Persons Unknown

Stephanie Whittaker was a happily married mother of three who had everything to live for. On the evening of March 23rd 1990 the 34 year old was due to meet friends for a drink in the centre of Newport, South Wales. Stephanie left her house at 8.25pm to walk the short five minute journey into town but she never arrived. Despite a couple of unconfirmed sightings over the next 24 hours Stephanie has not been heard of since. All her knew her agreed, that Stephanie would not have left her family of her own accord and Gwent police have said the disappearance is highly suspicious.

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*In the episode I give the date of an interview Tony Whittaker did with the Wales on Sunday as July 10th 1990. It was June 10th 1990)

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On an August evening in 2007, 7 year old Nurin Jazlin left her family's apartment and headed to the nearby night market in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nurin was alone and intent on purchasing a hair clip at one of the stalls. She never returned and witness reports would confirm she had was abducted by a man driving a white van. Almost a month later her parents' worst fears were realised when Nurin's body was discovered. 4 months later and 20 km away another little girl, Sharlinie Mohd Nashar, disappeared while playing in at a playground. She has never been seen since. A spate of abductions and failed kidnappings across Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding state of Selangor would lead investigators to suspect they were all connected. 

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At the age of 35 Dr Tatjana "Tanya" Kopric had already achieved so much. She had emigrated to America from Yugoslavia in 1975 and had worked at numerous hospitals before setting up her own private medical practice in Kansas city, Missouri. In September 1980 her life was cruelly taken in a matter of seconds, when she was shot at close range as she sat in her parked car.  Witnesses recognised the assassin and the search for Tanya's killer got underway. The trail led to a remote part of Canada before abruptly stopping, leaving investigators scratching their heads and a fugitive on the loose.

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On the evening of Saturday April 19th 1986  Teresa Branch and her friend Lisa were returning to Decatur in Wise County after visiting Teresa's family in Arlington, Texas. The pair had been plagued by car trouble all weekend and 18 year old Teresa's red Pontiac Sunbird stalled yet again just minutes after leaving her parents home. With no payphone in sight Teresa decided to jog the short distance back home to get help. She told Lisa to wait in the car and that she would be back soon. Within minutes she was accosted by one or more persons who sexually assaulted Teresa before taking her life.

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In the later half of 2000 three women were murdered whilst hitchhiking in eastern Romania. The bodies of Maria Bîru, Safta Ciubotaru and Marcela Tomozei were discovered along lonely forest roads near the city of Barlad. There were few clues and little in the way of forensic evidence. All went quiet and it was assumed the killer had moved away or possibly even died. Then in 2004 it appeared the killer may have struck again with the brutal murder of  Mioara Danuta Manea. A decade later two further murders elsewhere in Europe would thrust a prime suspect into the spotlight.

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This week's episode is a little different. John guests on the excellent podcast Scottish Murders to examine the 1990 unresolved murder of Ann Heron.

This is part two. You can listen to part one by visiting the Scottish Murders podcast at Home - Scottish Murders or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

In part two we continue the story of Ann Heron’s murder with an arrest made in November 2005. This person was later released due to insufficient evidence. Despite various leads and multiple suspects, including Christopher Halliwell, sadly the case remains open. Durham Police and Ann’s family continue to seek information, hoping to solve a mystery that has persisted for decades. The case’s complexity is underscored by conflicting theories, a lack of definitive forensic evidence, and the emotional toll on the families involved. The search for justice continues, with the hope that new advances in forensic science will finally provide the answers needed to close the chapter on Ann Heron’s murder.

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On a September afternoon in 1962, 7 year old Diana Moon Yoli took her younger sibling Mark to the local park. The 2 and a half year old loved to play on the slide and Diana always took great care of her little brother. The playground was  less than two blocks from their family home which was situated close to Camp Lejeune, a Marine base just outside Jacksonville, North Carolina. An hour later the children's mother Marilyn went out to look for them but they were gone.  A few leads materialised early on but they led nowhere and  Marilyn never saw Diana or Mark again. It was thirty years later that the local sheriff received a phone call from someone claiming to know what had happened to the missing siblings.

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Patricia Simpson moved to Cardiff, South Wales in 1961 looking for a fresh start. Originally from Cheshire in the north west of England, the teenager had experienced a difficult start to life. On the evening of Friday November 1st 1963 Patricia was seen leaving her home in the Adamsdown area of the city with her flatmate Mary.  Twenty four hours later her strangled  body was found ten miles away at the bottom of an abandoned mine. Despite several leads the case went cold. Then in the late 1990s South Wales police received a tip off which saw the investigation kick back into life and detectives travel halfway across the world chasing a new lead.

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In April 1981, 22 year old old student Caroline Harris-Reed went to stay with a friend in South London. Her friend was nervous about being alone in her new flat and Caroline thought the short visit would be a good opportunity to look for a summer job. On the evening of the 8th the pair were in the flat waiting for a mutual friend to join them when a violent intruder burst in, threatening the young women at knifepoint.  After a harrowing two hour ordeal  Caroline was left dead and the intruder fled into the night. He has yet to be brought to justice.


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Early in the morning of November 1st 1986 the body of 15 year old Chaim Weiss was found in his dorm room at Long Beach Yeshiva. He had been bludgeoned to death with a heavy, bladed weapon in a frenzied attack. The bright and gifted teenager had been at the Torah High School for two and a half years and on the surface it seemed he didn't have an enemy in the world. Police said they were keeping an open mind but attention was soon focused on the staff of the school and Chaim's fellow students. Four decades on there remain many questions concerning the unexplained incidents and events that surround this brutal killing.

Sources for the episode can be found here 

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