#crimeblog

Lily Sullivan was an 18-year-old college student living in Pembroke, Wales, she was learning to drive and was described as forgiving, kind and loving. She was a talented artist who loved music and spending time with her friends.

Lily went on a night out with friends on 16th December 2021. She met Lewis Haines, 31, in a nightclub and the two kissed. Friends of Haines reminded him that he had a girlfriend and cautioned him that Lily was 'far too young.' At some point, Lily and Haines left the club together. They were walking through an alleyway towards Mill Pond when at 2.47am, Lily phoned her mother and said 'I'll be there now mam. I'm on my way. I'm a couple of minutes away. I'm nearly there,' before the call was cut short. Her mother tried calling her back 30 times, CCTV shows Lily's abandoned phone lighting up. At around 3am a local resident heard a woman scream.

Lily was found face down in Mill Pond reservoir, her top had been forcibly removed and she had been strangled.

After murdering Lily, CCTV chillingly captured Haines walking past Lily's mother who was waiting at a nearby garage to pick her up. Lily's mother noticed Haines acting strangely and followed him until he disappeared into nearby woods. Haines then went home to his girlfriend and said 'I've strangled somebody.'

It is thought that Lily had rejected Haines' sexual advances and wanted to go home with her mother which angered him and led to him attacking her. Haines claims Lily threatened to report him for trying to rape her when she found out he had a girlfriend. The judge ruled, 'His intention was to silence her. He didn't want anyone to know what had happened in the lane.' Haines was sentenced to serve at least 23 years and 4 months in prison.

Katie Rackliff was an 18-year-old apprentice hairdresser living in Camberley, Surrey. She was described as trusting and a happy girl.

On 7th June 1992, Katie was walking home from a nightclub when she was attacked and stabbed 32 times with a 6.5 inch knife. Injuries were found to her breasts, ribs, heart, vagina and anus and her clothes had been pulled up. Some knife wounds went straight through the body and the victim’s breasts and genitals had been mutilated. The body had then been dragged along a road and dumped by a cemetery wall.  Due to the severity of the attack and the apparent sexual motivation, police believed the killer to be an adult male, the real killer remained unidentified and the case went unsolved for years.

Sharon Louise Carr was a 12-year-old schoolgirl at the time of Katie’s murder and was not even considered as relevant to the case until years later when she confessed. Carr had a long history of cruelty to animals, she had also been excluded from school multiple times for being violent. Two years after Katie’s murder, Carr attacked a fellow pupil with a knife. She was quickly arrested and sent to a medical centre where she tried to strangle two members of staff and was charged with two counts of actual bodily harm in addition to her charges against the girl she had attacked in school. Carr was transferred to Bullwood Hall young offenders’ institution where it was thought her violent and sexualised behaviour could be better managed.

While incarcerated at Bullwood Hall, Carr began talking about Katie’s murder and her diaries contained descriptions of the sexual excitement she had felt at hearing her victim screaming and a drawing of the knife that had been used. When questioned, Carr admitted the killing and graphically described the injuries and a bracelet Katie has been wearing at the time of her death, as these details had not been released to the public they were considered to be things only the killer would have known. Carr helped police film a reconstruction of the murder and repeatedly laughed when asked about the details.

Carr was charged and convicted of murder making her Britain’s youngest ever female convicted murderer. Carr was seen smiling as she left the dock after conviction. While in prison Carr continued to assault staff and other residents, threatening to slit another inmate’s throat.

Jessie Earl was a 22-year-old art student studying at Eastbourne College of Art and Design. Described as independent and strong, Jessie enjoyed reading and walking along the coast.

On 15th May 1980, Jessie rang her mother from a payphone on the seafront, she said she would visit on Friday. On Friday, when Jessie did not return home, her mother decided to go to Jessie’s apartment and see why she had changed her plans.

On 18th May, Jessie’s mother arrived at her daughter’s apartment and realised something was wrong- the place looked abandoned yet Jessie’s purse remained on the bed, the diary Jessie wrote in daily gave no indication she had gone anywhere. The police were called but no trace of Jessie or clues as to what happened to her could be found.

In 1989, a skeleton was discovered in undergrowth on Beachy Head, this was identified as Jessie’s body. The body was nude with a bra tied around the wrists, her jewellery was missing. A coroner claimed Jessie had committed suicide despite her parents arguing that she had no reason to and was not unhappy.

In 2000, Jessie’s death was classified as murder, however due to the original investigation being closed as a suicide, evidence had been destroyed including the bra which had been found, this prevented modern forensic techniques being used and was described as a ‘significant mistake.’

Serial killer and sex offender, Peter Tobin, was known to have been in the area of the murder at the time and Jessie had fit his victim profile however due to a lack of evidence from the crime scene no link could be found. Jessie’s murder was also linked to the unsolved murder of Louise Kays, who disappeared from Eastbourne in 1968, Louise also frequented the Beachy Head area. It was also speculated Louise was a victim of Peter Tobin, though no evidence could be found. Louise’s murder is unsolved.

Tiffany Taylor was a 16-year-old girl from Brisbane. Tiffany’s mother described her as smart and ‘beyond her years.’ Tiffany moved out of her family home when she was 12, though her mother stated they remained close. At the time of her disappearance in 2015, Tiffany found out she was pregnant and was using a social networking site to meet up with men to exchange sex for money in a desperate attempt to support herself.

Tiffany was last seen on 12th July 2015 leaving the motel to meet with Rodney Wayne Williams, 68, after the pair had met online and Williams had arranged to pay her $500 for sex. Despite previously replying to thousands of messages a day, Tiffany suddenly stopped responding and using her phone altogether, her boyfriend reported her missing. The court heard Tiffany was confident in demanding money from men who refused to pay her and had threatened several customers before.

Tiffany’s blood was found in Williams’ car on the passenger seat and the gearstick, he also claimed despite messages clearly indicating his motives that he had not had not met Tiffany for sex and that Tiffany had been interested in him. Williams also changed his story multiple times after being accused of lying when he claimed Tiffany had just jumped out of his car at a red light. His mobile phone was also found to have been at the same place as Tiffany’s phone at a time when he denied being with her. Williams also had a prior conviction for a murder in Tasmania in 1978 and had been found guilty of indecently assaulted a teenager in 1994. Williams was convicted of Tiffany’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Algor Mortis is the name given to the loss of a body's temperature after death. If the body is found within 24 hours following death it may be possible to use temperature to estimate the time of death provided the following conditions are met:

1. The body has been in a place that has remained at normal room temperature without extreme heat or cold

2. The victim's pre-death temperature was not elevated for example by illness

3. The victim was not wearing clothes that may have insulated the body for example a thermal winter coat

Amy Lynn Bradley was an American woman from Virginia, she had a degree in physical education and had previously worked as a lifeguard. Amy was reported missing from a Caribbean cruise in 1998 when she was 23 years old, her whereabouts remain unknown.

On 21st March 1998, Amy and her family boarded the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. On the night of 23rd March 1998, Amy and her brother, Brad, went to a Mardi Gras nightclub party on the ship. Brad was recorded on the ship's lock system returning to their cabin at 3.35am and Amy 5 minutes later, Brad reported that they had sat on the balcony talking before Brad went to bed.

Between 5.15am and 5.30am Amy's father, Ron, woke up and went to check on his children, he saw Amy sleeping on the lounge chair on the balcony. When he later got up at 6am, Amy had vanished from the balcony so he began to search the ship. At 6.30am, Amy was reported missing. Delays in the crew searching for Amy and the investigation of the disappearance were thought to have lowered the chances of finding Amy. Passengers were also able to disembark before the search began.

Amy's case has been re-examined many times including being featured on America's Most Wanted. Despite reward money being offered, it remains a mystery what happened to Amy or where she went.

Initially, it was speculated that Amy may have fallen overboard, but this was soon discredited as Amy was a strong swimmer with lifeguard training.

The predominant theory of Amy's disappearance is that she was kidnapped and sold into the human trafficking industry. A professional photographer had printed photos taken throughout the cruise to sell at a stall but the photos taken of Amy were missing, leading her family to speculate someone had taken the photos. Further evidence for this theory came in January 1999, a when US Navy Officer claimed to have seen Amy at a brothel in Curaçao, he stated the woman had told him her name was Amy Bradley and that she was being held against her will. The man did not report the incident as he did not want his career to be damaged by him visiting a brothel. When the officer retired he saw Amy's picture in a magazine and reported the sighting to her family. In addition, an email was sent to the Bradley family containing two photographs of a woman who resembled Amy, it suggested Amy was sold into sex slavery.

Pennsylvania:

Randy Stair had a YouTube channel since 2007. In the beginning it was Let's Plays or silly things that he showed the viewers. Then in 2014, it got weirder and weirder. He talked about the cartoon Danny Phantom and Ember, who he could identify with and become one with.

Stair was addicted to Ember and said he had a good and bad part in him. He drew countless pictures of this and wrote in his journals. Stairs identified himself as a woman. He used a razor to remove his hair so he would be as white as Ember. As he stated in videos, his parents and teachers had never interest in him, although there were clear signs. He had no friends. Since high school he was plagued by suicidal thoughts. Once he had the idea of setting himself on fire. Stair was literally obsessed with death. He also revered the Columbine High School Massacre. In particular, he identified with Eric Harris. From all these sinister events, he created the fantasy of killing either his family or his work colleagues. The fantasy became bitter reality. In one video, Stairs is seen flipping a coin three times. It decides between life and death. Heads or tails? The decision was made for the supermarket he worked at. Before the crime, he narrated his plan in several videos, showed the weapons he had bought and tweeted about his plan. Why did no one stop him? On 8 June 2017, he murdered three of his co-workers. Fortunately, one colleague escaped. Before the crime, he filmed the shop and barricaded all exits. In the end, the 24-year-old committed suicide. He believed he would be reborn as a female ghost.