🚨 HEARTBREAKING NEW PLEA — A DESPERATE APPEAL HAS BEEN MADE TO FIND THE KILL3R OF A 23-YEAR-OLD WOMAN STRANGLED TO D3ATH 32 YEARS AGO… AS HER FAMILY STILL WAITS FOR ANSWERS
POLICE have launched a fresh appeal for information about a woman who was strangled to death 32 years ago.
The naked body of Julie Finley, 23, was abandoned in a carrot field in 1994, but the killer still hasn’t been brought to justice.
Julie Finley was murdered 32 years agoCredit: Merseyside Police/PA
A witness said he saw a man trying to force a woman into a white transit vanCredit: BBC
Now cops have launched a new bid for information about her brutal murder
Her body was discovered by a cyclist in a field near the Rainford bypass, north-west of St Helens in Merseyside in 1994.
Julie was last seen in Liverpool city centre on Friday, August 5, 1994, talking to a white man believed to be in his 20s or 30s at approximately 11pm behind Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Then, another witness saw someone matching Julie’s description in the early hours of the next morning at around 2:30am on Saturday, August 6.
Police released an E-fit of the suspect, but the killer has never been brought to justiceCredit: Merseyside Police
The witness claimed he saw a young woman arguing with a man outside the Wheatsheaf Public House, close to where Julie’s body was found.
He also said the man was trying to force the young woman into a white transit van.
Detective Inspector Sam Davies from the major incident team said: “It is 32 years since Julie was murdered but the investigation into her death remains ongoing.
“We know that back in 1994 people may have had information about Julie’s death which, either through loyalty or fear, they didn’t bring to our attention.
“My message would be it is never too late to do the right thing and tell us what you know, no matter how small. One piece of information could be key to solving the case and bringing the person responsible to justice.”
Ten months after Julie’s murder, on Friday, July 21, 1995, a man picked up a hitchhiker at the junction of East Lancashire Road and Rainford Bypass.
The lead detective at the time, DCI Francis Youell, later told BBC’s Crimewatch that the hitchhiker had become extremely agitated when they approached the site where Julie was found.
He told the driver of the vehicle that ten months before, his motorcycle had broken down in the lay-by close to where Julie’s body was found.
He said that while he was fixing his bike, he heard bangs and screams coming from a van and, when he approached the van and opened the doors, he saw a young woman.
She was naked and said, ‘help me, help me, for god’s sake, help me’, before a man appeared and told him to get on his way.
The hitchhiker said the man told him the woman was his girlfriend and then the hitchhiker drove off.
The man was in his mid-20s, about 5ft 8 with clean-cut, blond short hair and was believed to be from St Helens and en route to Ainsdale in Merseyside to see his grandfather.
He has never been traced.
In 2014, Miss Finley’s elderly parents released photographs from her childhood in a bid to shake someone’s conscience and provide new information.
At that time, Miss Finley’s mother said: “Albie and I have been put through 20 years of hell and torment and Julie’s sudden and tragic loss has affected the whole family.
“It’s difficult to explain what the last 20 years have been like, but for me I still feel like it’s 1994 and I’m constantly waiting for Julie to come through the door, but she never does and never will.”
Police have said they “remain committed” to helping Miss Finley’s family get justice.
Anyone with information about her death has been asked to message @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.
SOURCE: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40008907/new-plea-hunt-killer-woman-strangled-body-dumped-field/