Murder of Lindsay Rimer

Lindsay Jo Rimer (17 February 1981 – c. 1994) was a British thirteen-year-old girl from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire who was murdered. She was last seen alive in Hebden Bridge on 7 November 1994, and her body was found in a canal about a mile away on 12 April 1995. Despite repeated appeals for information by police, her murder remains unsolved.

Life

Rimer lived with her parents, two sisters and her brother in the family home on Cambridge Street in Hebden Bridge. She was in Year 9 at Calder High School and was described as a "popular" pupil.[1]

Last sighting

Rimer was last seen alive on the evening of 7 November 1994. At about 10:00 pm, she left her home to buy a packet of cornflakes from the Spar Supermarket in Crown Street. On her way to the shop she briefly stopped by a local pub, the Trades Club in Holme Street, where her mother was having a drink with a friend. Her mother asked her if she wanted to stay and have a cola with them, but Lindsay said no and continued to the shop.[2] CCTV footage from the shop showed her paying for the cornflakes at 10:22 pm. That remains the last known sighting of Lindsay alive. She failed to return home that night, and when she did not turn up for her paper round the following morning, the alarm was raised.[3]

Initial police investigation

Police initially suspected that Rimer might have run away.[3] There was local speculation that Rimer had been having problems at home, although this was strenuously denied by her family.[2] Rimer's older sister, Katie, took part in a reconstruction of Rimer's walk to the shop and hundreds of local people joined the police in searches of the area around Hebden Bridge, but no trace of Rimer was found.[1]

Body found and post-mortem

Rimer's body was found by two local canal workers in the Rochdale Canal, about a mile upstream of the centre of Hebden Bridge, on 12 April 1995. It had been weighed down with a concrete boulder.[3]

The post-mortem was carried out later that day at Royal Halifax Royal Infirmary by Home Office pathologist Professor Mike Green. He concluded that Lindsay Rimer had probably been strangled to death. Her voicebox had been flattened against the spinal column and there were also signs of congestion across the middle of the neck muscles. There were no signs of a sexual assault.[4]

Continuing police investigation

In the years since the discovery of Rimer's body, the police have taken hundreds of witness statements and spoken to more than 5,000 people during their investigation. Detectives have investigated a number of convicted murderers and sex offenders who were still at liberty at the time of the murder. John Taylor, jailed for life in 2002 for the murder of Leeds teenager Leanne Tiernan, and John Oswin (jailed for life in 1998 for two rapes) have both been investigated, but no evidence has been found to link either to Lindsay Rimer's murder.[3][5] Nobody has ever been charged over the murder.

In April 2016, it was revealed by West Yorkshire Police that a DNA profile had been obtained by a Canadian team of forensic specialists. The police were hopeful that it would lead to the identity of the killer.[6]

On 8 November 2016, an unnamed 63-year-old man from Bradford was arrested on suspicion of the murder. He was later released on police bail.[7] A second suspect, aged 68, was arrested by West Yorkshire Police on suspicion of murder on 25 April 2017 in Bradford.[8]

Subsequent theories

In 2017, retired detective sergeant John Matthews from Cleveland Police stated that a man he had questioned in connection with the murders of Tina Bell and Julie Hogg had connections to Hebden Bridge and the Rimer family. He suggested that the man, who was deceased by 2017, should have been considered as part of the investigation into Lindsay's murder.[9]

In 2018, investigative journalist Tim Hicks suggested that Lindsay Rimer could have been murdered by convicted killer Christopher Halliwell.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Lindsay Rimer: 10 Years On". Hebweb News. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  2. Rimer, Geri (4 November 2006). "I don't know what happened to my daughter". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  3. "The Murder of Lindsay Rimer". Hebweb News. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  4. "Canal gives up its grim secret". Hebweb News. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  5. Herbert, Ian (23 October 2002). "Murderer questioned about sex attacks". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  6. "Lindsay Rimer death: New DNA leads in 1994 murder case". BBC News. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. "Lindsay Rimer death: Man arrested over 1990s case bailed". BBC News. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  8. Jones, David (25 April 2017). "Second Bradford man arrested over Lindsay Jo Rimer murder". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. "Ex detective says police missed 'prime suspect' in Lindsay Rimer murder". Halifax Courier. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  10. "CHRISTOPHER HALLIWELL: THE SECRET MURDERS PART 3". North Yorks Enquirer. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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