A former detective who worked on the unsolved murder of Julie Finley has said that double killer Christopher Halliwell should be questioned by police over the 1994 killing. The ex-detective, Ian Clarke, believes Halliwell would have been a prime suspect had police known about him at the time.
Evidence linking Halliwell to the murder
Julie Finley, 23, was strangled and dumped naked in a carrot field near a lay-by ten miles outside Liverpool on August 6, 1994. She had screamed "help me, help me, for god's sake help me" to a witness who fled after her killer threatened him near the A570 in Rainford, Lancs.
A Mirror investigation revealed in 2019 that Halliwell was living in Aughton, five miles from the spot at the time of the murder. He was a window fitter and drove a D-reg white Transit van similar to the one spotted at the scene at the time Julie was killed.
Former detective's call for action
Speaking at the deposition scene last month, Mr Clarke told the Mirror: "I think that's good evidence. We would have had no reason to look for somebody like Christopher Halliwell; he wouldn't have ever come into our investigation."
"I don't see why a visit to him in prison couldn't be made. He might make no comment, but you never know he might want to get it off his chest."
He added: "I think he's got to be a strong suspect. I would do everything I could to find out the history of Halliwell because I can't believe that a man like him, having done one murder, having admitted another murder, is well capable of having committed this one on Julie Finley. No other suspects ever came in."
Details of the case
Julie, who had become a heroin addict in her late teens, was seen at around 10.30pm on Friday, August 5, 1994, near Royal Liverpool Hospital, talking to a white man, of average build, aged in his 20s or 30s. Her body was found the next day.
Two witnesses later reported that a man and woman had been seen arguing next to a white Transit van in the lay-by where Julie was dumped. The witness she shouted at was a hitchhiker in his mid-20s with short blond hair, believed to be from St Helens. Mr Clarke revealed that his team traced the man who was believed to have been a mental health nurse. It is not known if Merseyside Police have gone back to him since Halliwell became a suspect.
Coincidences and family plea
Mr Clarke said of the double killer: "I think he's got to be well in the frame in the circumstances of him being in Aughton, which is five miles down the road, having a D-registration Ford Transit, that he's been convicted of murdering young ladies who are similar to Julie Finley. So it's a lot of coincidences to work on and I would think that had we known that at the time he would certainly have been interviewed."
Sending a message to Halliwell, Julie's mum Pat, 81, said: "Could you please let us know if you're the one that murdered Julie? I want to know, I want justice for her. I've waited long enough and it's not fair on the family. It's thirty-odd years now and she could be married and have got herself a good job."
Pat, from Liverpool, also urged the police to quiz the killer, saying: "Go down and speak to Halliwell. I want closure for Julie."
Halliwell's known crimes and other links
Like Halliwell's known victims, Julie was in her early 20s when lured into a vehicle, killed and dumped in a rural spot. There was no sign of an overt sex attack and a solid object had been thrust in her neck.
Swindon taxi driver Halliwell, 62, is serving a whole life term for killing Becky Godden-Edwards, 20, and Sian O'Callaghan, 22. It comes after a Mirror investigation this year found fresh evidence linking Halliwell to the unsolved murder of Melanie Hall, 25, who vanished from a nightclub in Bath two years after Julie was murdered.
Det Chief Insp Ben Lavender, of Avon and Somerset Police, said in January that one theory was that the killer had links to Dursley, five miles from where Melanie's body was found. The Mirror uncovered electoral roll records which show Halliwell's sister, Sarah, lived in the small Gloucestershire town. They also show the double killer's mother, Sofia, and stepfather John, lived in neighbouring Nailsworth.
Melanie's remains were discovered in October 2009 on the northbound M5 at junction 14, 28 miles north of where she vanished. One of Halliwell's former friends told the Mirror they would use the Michaelwood service station, a mile up the road.
