THE JULIE FINLEY MURDER; TIME FOR JUSTICE.

Julie Finley

Written by Scott Williams-Collier

Julie Finely was brutally murdered over 25 years ago, her naked body unceremoniously dumped in a carrot field close to a layby near the Rainford By-pass. There have been some interesting leads over the years, frustratingly none of them have led anywhere and the perpetrator has yet to be brought to justice.  Some of the witness statements that have been provided over the years have been very helpful, some promisings but frustratingly never led anywhere because the witness failed to get back in touch with the police again with further information. And as you get in huge murder cases like this one, there has been a fair share of red herrings thrown in there too, which likely had nothing to do with Julie's murder, much like the newspaper article I was reading from 1994 on the British Newspaper Archives website. In that article from the Liverpool Echo, a prostitute was attacked by a punter who told her he had murdered a prostitute a few months previously. She believed he was talking about Julie Finley. The problem here is this suspect was heavyset and had a tattoo on his arm and was driving a silver Ford Escort and had a local accent. Although the lady attacked no-doubt had a terrible experience with this individual and her statement was given with good intentions to take a dangerous individual off the streets, I don't believe that this is Julie's killer. For starters, he does not fit the physical description of the man she was seen talking to on Pembroke Street.

Then we have the phone call police received shortly after Julie's death, from a friend calling herself Tina. Tina provided some vital information that Julie was going to meet a taxi driver from Prescott. She promised to come in and see the police or ring them back, unfortunately, she never did and that line of enquiry went cold.

There was another witness that came forward about 10 months after Julie's death. A motorist rang the police to tell them about a story of a hitchhiker he had recently picked up who told him something very disturbing. At 10:30 am on Friday the 21st of July a motorist driving past the East Lancs Road and Rainford By-pass picked up a hitchhiker. As they approached the scene where Julie's body was found, he apparently became very agitated, so much so that the driver became concerned about his mental well being. The driver asked him what was wrong. The young hitchhiker then told him a very disturbing story. About 10 months before, his motorcycle had broken down on the same layby where Julie Finley's body was found nearby. He went on to say while he was there fixing his bike, he heard bangs and screams coming from a van parked nearby. He approached the van and opened the doors, there he saw a young woman naked shouting "help me help me, for god shake help me." Before he could do anything, a male appeared, told him to mind his own business as this was his girlfriend. He was told in no uncertain terms to get on his way. Surprisingly he did just that and left and failed to call the police. The following day Julies body was discovered by a cyclist in a nearby carrot field.

A photofit of the Hitchhiker

The police took this piece of information very seriously. In fact, they announced this on an episode of Crimewatch UK in 1995. The police were very keen to speak to this young man who had hitched a lift with the motorist, as he had information only they knew about. The police believe this witness was the last person to see Julie alive and had also saw the murderer up close. They believed based on the information he had, he is to be taken seriously as a witness, if not he must be considered a suspect. The Hitchhiker was described as being in his mid-twenties, clean-cut with short blonde hair in a crew-cut. The driver also mentioned to the police that this man was local due to his accent and is believed to be from the St Helens area. He said he was visiting his grandfather who lived in Ainsdale in Southport. The police urged this individual to call in to give a photofit but as with the Tina lead, this never happened and the trail yet again went cold.

However, there have been some positive pieces of evidence provided to the police, which could be integral in solving this case. That is the description of the man seen with Julie in Liverpool and near the Wheatsheaf pub close to the murder scene who was described as being a white male in his late 20's to early '30s, average build and height. There was also the description of the perpetrator's vehicle which was described as a D-reg Ford Transit van. Someone fitting Julie's description was seen arguing with a man outside the Wheatsheaf pub who was trying to force her into his van, the same van was later seen in the layby near the deposition site of Julie's body.

Frustratingly despite some valuable evidence provided over the years, nobody has been charged with Julie's murder. It has been an extremely painful time for Julie's family. Her father sadly passed away without ever seeing justice for his daughter. Julie's mother, Patricia Finley has said she will not rest until her daughters killer is caught and brought to justice. Over the last year or so, however, events have started to unfold.

Chris Clark.

Ex-police officer and author, Chris Clark started research back in 2014 into the background of notorious double murderer and suspected serial killer Christopher Halliwell. He has linked Halliwell to the East Lancs Ripper murders. Chris Highlighted the fact that Julie's murder and the murders of Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena fitted Halliwell's victim type and modus operandi. He also highlighted the fact that Halliwell was also a keen fisherman and narrowboat enthusiast who would likely have good knowledge of canals and waterways, like the Leeds and Liverpool canal and Pennington Flash. Halliwell also travelled extensively around the country doing various jobs and was also a taxi driver for large parts of his life.

It had been brought to the publics attention last year that notorious convicted killer Christopher Halliwell was actually living in nearby Aughton at the time of Julie's murder, which is about 4 miles away from where her body was dumped. The witness that came forward with this information also advised that Halliwell worked in north Wales at the time fitting windows during the week, and drove a white D-reg Ford Transit van. He would return to his home in Swindon at the weekends. This has apparently been confirmed by a second witness.

The good news is that the witness has now been spoken to by the police and they are now investigating this line of enquiry. Det Ch Insp Rachel Wilson who is leading the investigating said recently "We are investigating a new line of inquiry. A witness has come forward with information and has been spoken to by detectives." 

Christopher Halliwell

So are we now starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel in this long-running case? I really hope so; Julie and her family deserve justice. It's taken them a while but it is nice to see the police following up on this and finally investigating Halliwell as a suspect. Halliwell for me is the most viable suspect to date because we can tie him to the general area and know now that he had been living in the Aughton. Interestingly he has also worked as a taxi driver for large parts of his life; Julie was apparently going to meet a taxi driver from Prescott the night she went missing. He also fits the general description of the man seen with Julie perfectly and drove the same type of van seen at the Wheatsheaf pub and the layby near where Julies body was found. It's too much of a coincidence for me. The murder of Julie Finley matches Christopher Halliwell's modus operandi perfectly. Working girl, picked up in an urban area, murdered then dumped in a rural area with all her belongings and clothes missing.

Now what I want to know, and I hope this is the case, is that the police also look into two other murders which took place a short drive down the East Lancs Road from where Julie was killed. That is the 1988 murder of Linda Donaldson and the 1991 murder of Maria Christina Requena. Again both were working girls. Linda was last seen on the 18th of October 1988 at around 1:30 am at Canning Street less than a mile from where Julie Finely was seen speaking to the white male in Liverpool. Maria was last seen in Manchester heading towards Canal Street on New Years Day 1991. These were absolutely brutal murders which made national news and terrified the local communities, much like Julie's murder did. If the police are going to investigate him for Julie's murder they also need to look at him as the suspect for  Linda and Maria as well. 

Halliwell was a keen fisherman and also narrowboat enthusiast who went on narrowboat holidays. He would likely have good knowledge of the Leeds and Liverpool canal and Pennington Flash lake where Maria Requena's dismembered body was dumped. Linda Donaldson's mutilated body was dumped just over 3 miles away on Winick Lane in  Lowton. The location is just outside Leigh and very close to the M6 Motorway. It is quite possible Halliwell may have used the East Lancs Road and Winick Lane when going home back to Swindon at the weekends. 

These 3 murders have really stuck in my mind, so much so I have decided I want to write a book on the East Lancs Ripper case. I will be keeping my eyes and ears peeled in anticipation on what transpires from this new investigation and will keep everyone updated accordingly. I am also currently doing a lot of research into the case for my book, looking at other potential victims in the North West and the 4 suspects, Christopher Halliwell, David Smith, Alun Kyte and Duncan Munro McLuckie so this probably won't be the last blog I write on this subject. 

My next podcast will be a feature on the East Lancs Ripper case covering the murders of Linda Donaldson, Maria Requena and Julie Finley, so be sure to tune in for that one coming soon on my YouTube channel at The True Crime Page Podcast. Anyway, let's hope for now that the police do a thorough investigation into these three brutal murders. Julie, Linda and Maria and their families deserve justice, hopefully, that's just around the corner.