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Dead man in murder 'confession' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
An elderly man who recently died of cancer left an apparent confession to a murder unsolved for almost 38 years. | |
Harvey Richardson, 77, left nine sides of A5 paper detailing the strangulation of 19-year-old Lorraine Jacob in Liverpool in September 1970. | |
Her death remained a mystery until the letter was found in Mr Richardson's home in Aspull, near Wigan. | |
Merseyside Police are working with forensic and handwriting experts to corroborate the confession. | Merseyside Police are working with forensic and handwriting experts to corroborate the confession. |
Det Supt Ian Kemble, leading the investigation, said the letter was detailed and quite old with yellow staining. | Det Supt Ian Kemble, leading the investigation, said the letter was detailed and quite old with yellow staining. |
The family still need closure and will only rest when they know who was responsible for her death Det Supt Ian Kemble | |
But, crucially, it did not give any firm indication that Mr Richardson wrote it, he added. | |
Mr Kemble said: "I believe it's a probability - but I can't be 100% conclusive. That's why I'm hoping to corroborate the fact of the origin, the writer of the letter, by forensic testing. | |
"The confession isn't dated, it's not signed, so how do we know he wrote it? Well, we don't know that until we have expert evidence." | |
Mr Richardson died of cancer in a hospice in Wigan on 9 February. | |
In addition to the note, decorators at his house found a firearm, an airgun, an item of clothing and newspaper cuttings about the killing. | |
A press cutting about another unsolved murder from 1970 was also found. | |
Mr Richardson is believed to have lived in Liverpool | |
Jackie Ansell-Lamb, 18, went missing while hitchhiking and her body was discovered in Mere, Cheshire, in 1970. | |
Mr Kemble "categorically" denied a press report suggesting there was evidence linking Richardson to the killing. | |
Miss Jacob was last seen walking alone in Liverpool along Pilgrim Street towards Hardman Street late at night on 1 September 1970. | Miss Jacob was last seen walking alone in Liverpool along Pilgrim Street towards Hardman Street late at night on 1 September 1970. |
Her body was found early the following day by refuse workers in a back alley behind a building in Rodney Street. | |
Some of her clothing was missing. | |
Mr Richardson is believed to have lived in Huskisson Street, Liverpool, at the time and worked in a restaurant called The Mariners. | |
Detectives released a photograph of Richardson when he was aged 36 - four years before Lorraine was killed - in the hope someone who knew or worked with him recognises him. | |
DNA tests | |
Mr Kemble added: "For nearly 38 years the family of Lorraine Jacob have had to live with the fact that the person who murdered Lorraine has never been caught. | |
"The family still need closure and will only rest when they know who was responsible for her death." | |
Police expect results from DNA tests on items found in Mr Richardson's house in about five weeks. | |
Robin Makin, the Jacob family solicitor, said they had waited a very, very long time for the development. | |
"There is a jigsaw puzzle that needs solving," he said. | |
"There are enough pieces now to make the picture and I think that is stressful for the family to know that." |