PART 1
The A580 or as it is better known locally in the North West "East Lancs Road" is the first purpose-built inner-city highway in the UK. It links the city's of Liverpool and Salford and was built to provide better access between The Port Of Liverpool and industrial areas in East Lancashire around Manchester. The road was officially opened on 18th July 1934 by King George V.
Being born in the small mining town of Leigh situated just under 12 miles away from Salford, the East Lancs Road is one I am very familiar with and one I have used thousands of times over the years. The road is used by thousands of vehicles every day and gives great access to Liverpool, Salford and all the other towns situated along its path, as well as quick easy access to the M6 Motorway. However, it's a road which has links to a much darker story, one that shocked a nation and terrified the local communities!
On the 18th of October in the afternoon of 1988, an elderly couple pulled over on a remote road, Winick Lane in Lowton a short journey just outside Leigh. The couple had stopped to stretch their legs after a long car journey. While there they discovered a naked body dumped in a ditch in the farmer's field by the side of the road. They raised the alarm and alerted the police to their terrifying discovery. The body was that of Liverpool prostitute Linda Donaldson; she had been horribly mutilated, her breasts had been removed and an attempt had been made to take off her head. The prostitute had two stab wounds to her back and seven others around the body. It must have been a terrible and macabre sight for the police officers that arrived on the scene.
 |
| Linda Donaldson |
The murder shocked the town of leigh. I vividly remember my father speaking to my stepmother about the crime and seeing it on TV and in the papers. I distinctly remember the shock, fear and intrigue I felt, which was almost tangible, on learning of such a horrifying crime happening so close to home. In fact, it is one of the reasons why I believe I became so fascinated with the topic of true crime, in particular, serial killers and unsolved murders.
Linda was last seen on the corner of Canning Street in Liverpool at around 1.30 am on Tuesday 18th October. She was observed by a friend walking towards a dark car which was pulling into back Cannington Street. That would be the last time anyone would ever see Linda alive again.
At the time Linda Donaldson's body was found in the farmer's field there was a TV dramatisation of Jack the Ripper starring Michael Caine on TV, marking the 100th anniversary of the Whitechapel Murders. Police believed that the program had perhaps inspired the killer who they described as a maniac to commit this gruesome murder. Now although I agree certain material can sometimes serve as fuel for someone with an antisocial deviant personality, it's not the reason for someone committing a violent offence. At the end of the day if you are that way inclined you will go out and offend regardless of what material you look at. Having good morals and empathy for other human beings can never be undermined by looking at certain types of material.
Det Cheif Supt Ken Clarke of Greater Manchester Police said "we are looking for a maniac, a sadistic killer who could strike again. The type of man who could do this to another human defies description." Now the Detective was definitely correct on one thing; the killer would strike again. However, the perpetrator certainly is not a maniac. This is an individual who is cold, calculating, organised and forensically aware.
A Maroon Ford Granada was spotted parked at the location where Linda's body was discovered at around 5:45 am and was still there an hour later. Police requested that the owner of this vehicle come forward to give evidence as they may have seen something. As the owner of the vehicle never came forward it's very likely that this was the killer's car.
Just a little over two years later, Det Cheif Supt Ken Clarks worst fears came true, when the dismembered body of prostitute Maria Requena was found in five bin bags stuffed inside a bed mattress just over three miles away at Pennington Flash nature reserve. The body parts were discovered by John Faulkner and his son who were out fishing at the west side of the lake near Slag
 |
| Maria Christina Requena |
The last positive sighting of Maria was on New Years Day 1991 by one of her friends Debbie at around 10:15 pm. As Debbie was getting into a punters car, she said "see you later" to Maria and watched her walking away towards Canal Street in Manchester. That's the last time Debbie would see her friend again.
There are striking similarities in both the cases of Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena. They were both prostitutes, they were both picked up in cities (either end of the East Lancs Road in Liverpool and Manchester), brutally murdered then deposited in quiet rural areas a few miles apart, and all their clothes were missing. In both crimes, a knife was used. Linda Donaldson was killed with stab wounds and then horribly mutilated. Maria Requena was strangled and then dismembered. It's quite feasible that the killer may have intended to dismember Linda Donaldson too, but was disturbed during the process and decided to mutilate the corse instead and leave her dumped in the farmer's field. There are several reasons why a serial killer would mutilate and dismember a corpse. The most obvious is that mutilation and dismemberment make it harder for the body to be identified, dismembered will also make it easier to transport and conceal the body. We must also remember with deviant sociopaths who have the compulsion to kill, that everything in their violent behaviour is about power and control, something they never had in childhood. Being able to mutilate and dismember a corpse gives them ultimate power and control over the victim's body, it allows the murderer to unleash their rage and anger and demonstrate the power and control they have over the victim. I believe being able to do this and defile the victim's humanity is sexually gratifying and stimulating to the killer. I believe that Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena were killed by the same killer
There is at least one other crime close to the East Lancs Road which I now believe is linked to the murders of Linda and Maria. That is the 1994 murder of prostitute Julie Finley. Julie was last seen
 |
| Julie Finley. |
Not long after the murder someone claiming to be Julie's friend called "Tina", called the police and informed them that Julie had said she was going to meet a taxi driver from Prescot. Tina promised the police that she would call back in to speak to them, but she never did.
Someone fitting Julie's description was seen outside the Wheatsheaf pub arguing with a white male who was trying to drag her into a white van on the evening she vanished. It's quite possible she went to the pub with the suspect. The day after she was found dead in a nearby carrot field.
It's quite possible that the suspect's attack was more of a spontaneous attack on Julie which is why she was quickly dumped and left in the nearby carrot field without any dismemberment or mutilations taking place. We must remember that serial killers don't always follow the exact same modus
operandi in every murder as well. What does ring true in these three cases is that they were all prostitutes, enticed into a vehicle in an urban area, murdered, then dumped in a quiet rural area and had all their belongings and clothes removed. They were all dumped close to the East Lancs Road. Linda Donaldson was killed with stab wounds, both Maria Requena and Julie Finley were killed by strangulation. In the murder of Maria Requena, the murderer obviously had more time to dismember her body.
 |
| Disposition sites of Linda, Maria and Julie |
To be continued................
No comments:
Post a Comment