Authors: Lee Shepherd
As the mob grew and became more and more impatient with the lack of information, Cumbria’s Chief Inspector, Ian Messenger, decided that the time was now right to call a press conference and let the families and media know exactly how they were going to be handling the case, and inform them of any leads, which, as of this point they did not have.
***
It was on February 16
th
2014, just two days after Charles and Rebecca had celebrated their fifteen year anniversary, that the press conference took place in Carlisle police
headquarters conference room. The families of all the three girls were invited, along with a selection of local and national newspaper journalists and a couple of television crews. Chief Inspector Messenger began the proceedings by welcoming everybody there under such difficult circumstances, and assured the families that the case had become their number one priority since the discovery of Amber’s body. It was at this point that he introduced the man sat to his right, Detective Inspector Steven Taylor — the lead detective assigned to the case.
It was at this point that Detective Taylor stood and addressed the tense crowd before him. He started by thanking everybody in attendance and went on to reassure them that he and his team of detectives would be working around the clock to catch the person or persons who murdered Amber Thompson; although they were unsure of there being any connection between her death and the disappearance of Lucy Mitchell and Sarah Davidson, they would be exploring all possibilities and avenues of investigations.
‘We
will
find the perpetrators of these crimes, and they
will
be punished,’ he said passionately. ‘I’ll now take questions from the audience.’
The first question to be directed at him was from a very emotional Mr Thompson, Amber’s distraught father.
‘Do you have any idea who abducted and murdered our daughter?’ he choked, as he clutched the hand of his wife, who sat beside him.
‘I’m so sorry to say Mr Thompson, but at this moment in time, I’m afraid we cannot shed any light on who committed this terrible act. What I can say, however, is that right now my team has enlisted the help of a psychological profiler to try and help us narrow down the search, and hopefully offer us some fresh ideas. The forensics team are painstakingly inspecting every inch of the site where Amber’s body was discovered, and they will hopefully offer more evidence to help with our investigation.’
The next question came from the mother of Lucy
Mitchell. ‘Why is it that, nearly two months after our daughter was taken, we are still no further forward in discovering what exactly happened to her. Do you honestly believe that the disappearance of all three girls are connected?’
‘Well, I can’t comment on any investigations into Lucy’s disappearance, Mrs Mitchell. Until Amber’s tragic discovery, along with Sarah Davidson going missing the night before, Lucy’s case was being handled by Dumfries and Galloway constabulary. It’s only since then that my team and I have had any correspondence with them, as it was believed that Lucy’s disappearance was an isolated incident, with no evidence to suggest otherwise. However, I can assure you that both constabularies will be working alongside each other from hereon in, and sharing any fresh information any of us might bring to light.’
The following question came from the journalist who had been covering the story from the onset.
‘Jennifer Metcalfe, Border TV. Without wishing to sound insensitive, Detective, could you give us your honest opinion as to whether or not you believe the missing girls Lucy Mitchell and Sarah Davidson have fallen victim to the same fate as Amber, and have yet to be discovered? Or do you still hold any hope of them turning up unharmed?’
‘That’s a very good question, Miss Metcalfe,’ Taylor responded, ‘and the honest answer is that at this moment in time it is too early to tell.’
This started a whole barrage of questions from the media. The term ‘serial killer’ started to be thrown around the room, prompting Chief Inspector Messenger to interject.
‘There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that this was the work of a serial killer,’ he said firmly. ‘As of yet, we have only discovered one body and there’s no solid evidence to link the three girls. Any speculation to the contrary of this will only cause widespread panic and hysteria to the local communities, and may have a
negative effect on the investigation.’
It was at this point that he decided to call a halt to the conference and informed everybody that as soon as they discovered any more details they would be released to the families and the press in due time. The two detectives then swiftly removed themselves from the room, leaving the remaining police officers to restore order and disperse the crowd calmly.
As the two of them returned to their respective offices, Chief Inspector Messenger turned to his colleague.
‘We need answers, and we need them fast, Detective Taylor. If there is any chance whatsoever that we have a serial killer on our hands then we need to bring this reign of terror to an end before we lose the trust of the community and have a civil outcry on our streets!’
‘I assure you, sir, I’m going to do everything in my power to solve this case. You have my word on that.’
‘Let’s just hope that is enough, Detective,’ Messenger said gravely, before returning to his own office and firmly closing the door behind him.
Taylor’s thoughts were a blur. Shit. Where should he even begin? He made his way towards his department and team to see if there was any new leads.
Chief Inspector Messenger had placed a lot of trust in Taylor by placing him in charge of his CID department only a few years earlier. He’d chosen him from an outside department as opposed to promoting from within, and rightly so, as Taylor came from Hyndburn in Lancashire’s Serious Crime Task Force with a glowing reference after gaining a great reputation and making a name for himself in the 90s. He and his partner had solved the gangland murder of Jonny ‘The Butcher’ Balmer, the head of a serious organised crime gang in Lancashire. He went on to run the division for a number of years before opting for a more ‘peaceful’ life, heading north to Carlisle’s CID department in Cumbria. He’d never thought for one moment that he would be faced with the biggest case of his career, tracking a possible serial killer, but he was confident that he was the right man for the job and threw
himself into his work.
It was a hive of activity in the department, with people desperately trying to filter through the hundreds of calls being received by the hour offering clues as to who might be behind all this. Most of them were from genuinely concerned citizens offering any scrap of information they might think relevant, but there were also a number of fake callers and cranks proclaiming to be the killer due to the publicity the case was getting nationwide.
Taylor knew that he had the whole country, let alone the county, watching intently to see where this would lead. It was at this point that, whilst Detective Taylor was conversing with the forensic team who had been working the site where Amber’s body was discovered, one of his colleagues introduced him to the psychological profiler who had been called in to help build up an understanding of who they might actually be up against.
‘Sir, this is Miss Georgina Riley, she is going to be working alongside you in helping to build a picture of the person or persons we are looking for.’
‘Please, just call me George or Georgie, Detective,’ she said to Taylor.
Taylor, taken aback by the stunning redhead he was faced with, tried desperately to remain composed. Although he was a married man, he immediately felt a strong attraction towards the woman before him, and stuttered slightly as he formally introduced himself and dismissed his colleague.
He waited for his colleague to leave, watching Miss Riley intently.
‘You’ve turned up at just the right time, Miss Riley’, he informed her. ‘I was just about to get some answers from forensics regarding any evidence from the discovery site.’
‘Please, lead the way then. I’m here to help and assist you in any which way I can.’
‘So, you were saying?’ Taylor spoke to the forensic expert in a matter of fact manner, immediately trying to impress Miss Riley.
‘Yes, as I was saying. Pathology have confirmed that
Amber was murdered sometime on the early evening of her disappearance, possibly between 7 and 10pm. But due to the fact that she wasn’t discovered until the next day, and adding to that fact that there was heavy rain fall that evening, we estimate that her body could have travelled anywhere between two to six miles on that particular stretch of river.
However, we did discover a couple of miles upstream what appears to be a partial footprint on the river embankment. It is in the process of being analysed, and looks to be about a size ten or eleven, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.’
‘Was that all?’ Taylor asked.
‘Well, from the bruises on her neck, and burst capillaries around her eyes and cheeks, we have been able to confirm the cause of death as asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Another thing that will interest you is that toxicology also confirmed that she had a large quantity of ketamine in her system — far more than would be used recreationally — and also a trace of chloroform was detected.’
‘What about fibres or DNA traces?’ Taylor then asked, becoming more and more intrigued by these discoveries.
‘Again, unfortunately due to her being in the water for possibly up to fifteen hours, we were unable to find any traces of fibres, or semen for that matter. Which is disappointing, because due to the bruises around her groin, it would appear that forced intercourse took place. Also I might add, she must’ve been unconscious at the time the rape took place as there was no sign of any struggle, and no skin or fibres under her fingernails.’
‘Thanks.’
Taylor and Georgie then left and made their way towards the vending machine to get a cup of coffee, then into his office.
As they entered his office, Taylor pulled up a seat for her and asked Georgie for her opinion on what had just been discovered.
‘Well, I will start by saying that it doesn’t bode well for
the other two missing girls if these cases are related.’
‘And what may I ask leads you to that conclusion?’ he questioned.
‘Going off what I have just heard, it would appear that we are dealing with an extremely well-organised and calculated individual, with a good knowledge of the local area. And if it is the same person that has taken all three girls, I would say that the other two bodies just remain to be discovered.’
‘Shit!’ Taylor brooded for a moment before sighing. ‘Please continue.’
‘Again, and it’s only a theory at this point, but, if they are related, then the common denominator is the fact that they are all teenage girls.’
‘I could have told you that!’ he snapped at her in frustration.
‘Do you want my help or not, Detective?’ she retorted fiercely.
Taylor then mumbled an apology under his breath and politely asked her once more to finish what she was saying.
‘As I was saying; the fact that all three are all teenage girls, alongside the fact that Amber appears to have been raped, it would suggest that it was a male. I would hazard a guess at saying a white male between the age of thirty-five and fifty given his extensive knowledge of the different areas. I would also go out on a limb and say that he probably lives and works somewhere within a region of fifty miles from here.
‘I would say that he is possibly a little socially inept, and maybe a bit of an introvert who struggles to speak to members of the opposite sex — he may possibly even have some sort of an affliction that causes him to be self-conscious. As for work, I would also maybe say it is someone who travels a fair bit, possibly a truck driver or cabbie maybe. There’s just one thing I can’t quite get my head round though…’
‘Which is?’ Taylor excitedly fired back at her.
‘The ketamine and chloroform. How did he gain access
to these? I feel as though I’m missing something.’
‘What about his background?’
‘Well, he is careful by nature and possibly has knowledge of forensics; he drugged her before the rape, and also submerged her in water to try and rid her of any evidence. I would say that there is a real possibility that he has maybe been trialled or even prosecuted for previous sexual or violence related offences, or possibly been treated for anger issues.’
‘So what you are telling me is that this doesn’t look like it’s going to be a one off, and you honestly think he will strike again, if he hasn’t already?’ Taylor asks her, fearfully awaiting her response.
‘What I am telling you, Detective, is that I believe he will not only strike again, but that he is developing a real taste for it and is enjoying his work. I don’t believe for one second that it was by coincidence that Amber’s body was discovered: I think that he has grown confident since the first two girls, and that he wanted Amber to be found. He is secretly loving the attention the media have placed on the case, as he does not know how to handle that level of attention in his personal life!’
Taylor, startled by the depth of her observations from such a small piece of information from forensics, immediately gathered his team and proceeded to inform them of her theories. He explained how all lone teenage girls in the area are potential next victims, due to the perpetrator’s Modus Operandi.
Meanwhile, back at the Lee household, Georgie was absolutely correct, as a now elated Charles was secretly revelling in all the local and national media attention. On one hand he couldn’t wait to get back out and find another girl to take, and indulge in a game of cat and mouse with the police. But on the other hand, he knew that they would be frantically searching for him, and he could not afford to make any potential mistakes. He thought on it for a moment and decided to wait for a couple of weeks until the publicity died down and see what developed in the meantime, and just continued to go about his everyday business as usual, even going as far as joining in prayers at church that weekend for the missing girls and the family of Amber Thompson.