Former detective Ian Johnston has revealed how he exposed the lies of road rage killer Tracie Andrews, ahead of a new Channel 5 drama about the case. Andrews, then 29, was found covered in blood next to the body of her fiancé Lee Harvey, 25, on a dark country lane in December 1996. Lee had been stabbed more than 30 times in a frenzied attack, which Andrews blamed on a fictional 'fat man with staring eyes' who had chased their car.
Press conference slip-up
Mr Johnston, a former Detective Superintendent with West Mercia Police, said his suspicions grew the morning after the murder when Andrews gave a press conference. She had previously told officers that on the night of the murder, the couple had gone for a drink at the Marlbrook pub in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and there had been no 'awkwardness' between them. During the two-mile journey home, an altercation took place with a car that had begun chasing Lee's Ford Escort XR3i turbo. She claimed that on Coopers Hill, a quiet country lane, the two vehicles stopped, and the driver and passenger attacked Lee.
However, at the press conference, Andrews said she was appealing for the driver to come forward because 'he didn't do anything.' Mr Johnston noted: 'It was totally unscripted and it wasn't true because she had said the driver was equally involved as the man who struck Lee with the knife.' This inconsistency planted the first seeds of doubt.
Forensic evidence contradicts her story
Further doubts emerged from the pathologist's report, which revealed Lee had 42 separate injuries, including stab wounds to his back, head, and neck. His jugular vein and carotid artery had been severed, meaning he collapsed quickly after catastrophic blood loss. Mr Johnston said: 'We realised that the fight part of her story was a little bit soft. This guy would have to have been really going at him because of the injuries to Lee, his throat was almost taken out.'
A forensic scientist found that the bloodstaining was in the wrong place. Andrews had claimed the attack happened by the driver's door, but the initial blood was towards the rear of the car, where Lee was found. The pattern of blood on her clothing also suggested she had been close to Lee during the attack, contradicting her claim that she had been sitting in the car.
Key witness clinches the case
The piece of evidence that clinched it for Mr Johnston came from a motoring enthusiast, chartered accountant Simon Baker, who had seen Lee's distinctive car shortly before the murder. Baker gave a detailed description of the Escort and was certain it was not being followed. Mr Johnston said: 'He was so sure of the car. That then swung it around, we couldn't talk to her as a witness, she was now a suspect.' This was four days after the murder and just 24 hours after Andrews had taken an overdose of pills.
Mr Johnston believes she intended to take her life, but whether out of remorse or inability to face life without Lee, he cannot say. It also emerged that Andrews had a history of violence and had previously attacked Lee. Mr Johnston described their relationship as 'two young people who couldn't live with each other but couldn't live without each other.'
The murder weapon and trial
Mr Johnston suspects Andrews prepared to attack Lee before she got in the car and may have been planning the murder for weeks. The prosecution used forensic evidence to prove she had used an imitation Swiss Army knife before hiding it in her stiletto boot and then disposing of it. Strands of her hair were found in Lee's hands, and a knife-shaped bloodstain matching his DNA profile was discovered in Andrews' boot. A nine-year-old girl who heard shouting near the murder scene told the trial there were only two voices, one of which was soft, like a woman's.
After being found guilty and jailed for life at Birmingham Crown Court, Andrews finally confessed to killing Lee but insisted she had acted in self-defence. She dyed her blonde hair black after leaving jail, having served 14 years, and later married bouncer Phil Goldsworthy in 2017.
No solace for Lee's parents
Mr Johnston does not believe anything Andrews says now would give Lee's parents, Ray and Maureen, any solace. He said: 'I think she's totally moved on and I don't think they would believe anything anyway. They are people I have the utmost respect for. If you had to sit in a courtroom as a parent and listen to the details of what happened it would sadden your heart forever and they did it with such dignity. But I don't think Maureen would believe anything that Tracie said ever again.'
