A coroner has ruled that 15-year-old Mark Billington, found hanged in woodland in 1984, was unlawfully killed, overturning the original open verdict and confirming the death as a murder.
Mark Billington, from Yardley, was found hanging from a tree in Meriden, near Coventry, on November 11, 1984. He had last been seen two months earlier, on September 1, when he rode his bike to fly a kite. His death was initially treated as a suicide and recorded as an open verdict. West Midlands Police reinvestigated the case in 1998 and began investigating it as a murder in 2002. Three people have been arrested over the years, but no one has ever been charged.
New evidence at fresh inquest
At the fresh inquest, pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer gave evidence that the rope had been “tied unusually” and that it was unlikely Mark would have been able to tie the knots himself. The teen also had a weakness on the left side of his body. The pathologist said the medical cause of death was unascertained because of the level of decomposition to his body.
Senior Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Louise Hunt told the hearing on Tuesday, November 3, that Mark was likely to have died on or around the day he went missing. She said: “It’s extremely unlikely he could have harmed himself in the way he was found hanged.” She added: “I’m satisfied that Mark was murdered and there is no evidence that he took his own life. The rope was an intricate three knot system akin to a pulley.”
Family's reaction
The coroner ruled that she was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mark was “unlawfully killed”. She added: “I think it’s right that the record has been put straight.”
Speaking after the hearing, Mark’s sister Cheryl Jeyes said: “We’ve finally received some sort of justice after 42 years of heartache. Four days after celebrating his 15th birthday our beloved brother Mark was murdered. That was 42 years ago. After four decades of fighting for answers the coroner has finally ruled that Mark was murdered.” She added: “Somewhere there is a person who knows exactly what happened to our kind, gentle 15-year-old brother.”
Mark’s mum Wyn died two years ago without knowing what happened to her son. His dad is now 85. The family said they had experienced “42 years of heartache” and appealed for anyone with information to come forward. One murder hypothesis investigated by police was that Mark had uncovered a “bottle scam” by boys where bottle tops were taken back to different newsagents in return for money, but the family said they were not fully convinced by this theory.
