Sharon Carr, Britain's youngest female murderer, was probably not acting alone when she stabbed 18-year-old Katie Rackliff to death in 1992, a judge has said. Carr, then aged 12, was convicted of the frenzied knife attack but detectives have long suspected others were involved.
Katie's body was found three miles from where she was last seen alive, and she had been moved after death. The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Scott Baker, told Carr: “The evidence suggests that you were not alone when you stabbed Katie Rackliff to death in June 1992. Who the others were, and any part they played, remains unclear.”
Police initially believed a man was responsible due to the nature of the murder and the fact that the body had been moved. Carr gave three different accounts, two of which implicated two boys in a car who engaged in sexual activity with Katie before dumping the body. The boys provided alibis and were eliminated from the inquiry.
Prosecutors could not explain how an 8st 8lbs woman was dragged across a pavement and around a corner by a 12-year-old girl. One detective said: “There is no way that Sharon had a car — she must have had help.”
Carr, dubbed the “Devil’s Daughter”, has now been recommended for a move to an open prison, paving the way for her eventual release. The Parole Board confirmed it refused release but recommended a move to open conditions, with the final decision resting with the Secretary of State for Justice.
