Unsolved: Alan Holmes Camden 1996

 It was Boxing day evening in 1996 when Alan Holmes, a 53 year old garage mechanic from Camden returned home to his flat in Parkway London after enjoying a festive celebration with friends Cathy Horgan and her family. He had lived for 30 years in this flat above a clothing shop (nowadays Starbucks).

His neighbours in the other flats were all away for christmas so the place was quiet and peaceful. Alan got in through the front door ( right of starbucks) and was expecting perhaps a night infront of the TV. But either as he entered the building or just after, he was viciously robbed by unknown person or persons who took his credit cards and cash from him,his passport, driving license and a silver picture frame and demanded to know his pin numbers. This information Alan probably gave willingly, just wanting these criminals out of his flat as asap. But these were a particularily evil sort of criminals who wanted to make sure their victim was not able to raise the alarm as they fled. They tied Alan to his bed by his wrists and ankles face down, the knots tied so tightly as to cause horrific pain.

Alan laid there on his bed fully clothed and unable to move for the next 10 days. He cried out for help incase any of his neighbours had arrived back after christmas but must have become weaker with the lack of food and water, whilst trying to cope with the pain of the tightly knotted ties around his hands. It is beyond dreadful to try and imagine how he felt as the days turned to nights and no help arrived to cut him free.

On January 2nd 1997 colleagues at Alans place of employment grew concerned when he never arrived after several days. Once the police had got into the flat he was found barely clinging to life and was quickly taken to hospital where he managed to tell the police a little of what had happened to him. Sadly Alan died soon after reaching hospital of sever dehydration and blood clots caused by his restraints and his immobilisation. His sister Mavis described his condition as being " A dreadful state".

CCTV was obtained of the assailants using Alans credit cards at a local cashpoint but unfortunately the images were not clear enough to be identifiable. Five men were subsequently arrested but none were ever charged with Alans' murder.

Alans friends and family described him as a kind and caring man who would help anyone. I wonder if the persons responsible ever pass by the flat or even have a coffee in Starbucks below. They cannot really be described as human at all.

                                                                                

Unsolved:Lorna St Theresa Hayles Clapham 1986

Death was a cruel, lonely place for Jamaican born Lorna St Theresa Hayles aka Black. At just 28 years old, the mother-of-one was living alone in Clapham in the summer of 1986 and reaching out to others for friendship and company. She certainly had many friends; but did one or more of her friends turn on her and commit murder?

Lorna worked for Kall Kwik Commercial Printers in Chamomile Street E2 and also had various part time jobs such as a barmaid and product party demonstrator. She filled her life as fully as possible perhaps because she didn't like to be alone. Police traced through the last month of her life and discovered she had quit her job at Kall Kwik on 24th July for reasons unknown. She apparently had no other job lined up and left without any explanation.

 

Lorna had sublet her old flat in Youngs Court Battersea and called round to see the male tenant living there. She seemed happy and changed into a gold dress telling him she was going to a fashion party. Police could not trace any such party amongst her friends. She did hold a barbecue at her own flat in the same month with most of her guests leaving by nine pm. Two couples arrived soon after who seemed to know Lorna well, but other remaining guests did not know who these people were.

A couple of days later Lorna returned to the laundrette on 31st July to invite the two friends to a product demonstration party, which has been identified by other websites as being for the company Amway. A salesman arrived at Lorna's flat but no one else attended that night and he left at approximately 9.15pm

Friends working in the local laundrette said she had called in to tell them about a nanny job she was going for which involved travel. The odd thing was that it was already known that she had been turned down for the job so what was her reason for telling people this?

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 Lorna was seen for the last time a few days later around the local shops in the area.

Almost a month later 29th August a neighbour was startled to see hundreds of flies congregating on the downstairs window of  Lorna's flat. She called the police who arrived to discover her decomposing body lying in her bedroom with a carving fork sticking out of her neck .She had been sexually assaulted.

Crimewatch UK television programme released a reconstruction appeal that received a good response from the public but there were gaps in the story they just could not fill. The mystery guests at the party were never identified.

A man was taken into custody when finger prints were found at the flat and then released through lack of evidence. The case remains unsolved but personally I have a hunch that the killer was female.

A carving fork is a strange weapon for a man to use on this petit lady who could easily be overpowered by a mans bare hands. It seems more likely that a woman attacked her with the fork, maybe because of jealousy over a man. It could be that the gaps in her life were kept secret as she was having a liaison with a married man?