THE UNSOLVED MURDER OF VERONICA ANDERSON

Veronica Anderson

Written by Scott Williams-Collier

It's been almost 29 years since the senseless and brutal murder of single mum Veronica Anderson, known to her family and friends as Vera.  Her murder has left her family and police alike baffled with no clear motive or suspects. Her daughter Lorraine Rigby has had to live with the harrowing experience of having to identify her dead mother's body when she was just 19 years old and pregnant with her first child, something that still bothers her to this day and will do for the rest of her life. She also had the challenging task of having to break the terrible news to her young brother Neil who was just 7 years old at the time.

This tragic event all unfolded on Saturday 24th of August 1991 on what should have been a normal evening watching TV. Her son Neil was asleep in his bed upstairs. At some point, Vera received a call from someone; a call which prompted Vera to ask her neighbour to babysit her son for ten minutes while she nipped out. She woke her son and dropped him off at her next-door neighbour's house and said she would be back in 10 minutes. She informed her neighbour that she wouldn't be long and was going to pick up her brother, her neighbour mentioned that this was unusual for her to say, "brother" as she would always refer to her siblings by name. Vera had also emptied her boot before leaving which would suggest she was making room to put something in the back of her car, then left around 10.15 pm. That would be the last time anyone would see her alive.

The Crown and Cushion pub.

Before Vera was murdered there was a possible sighting of her at The Crown and Cushion pub in Warrington at around 10:30 pm about twenty minutes after she had left her home. She wasn't a regular at this pub but it was a short distance from her home and also close to the location where her body would be found. A witness in the pub said they saw someone fitting Vera's description entering the pub looking for someone, not long after entering the pub she was seen sat with her back to the bar talking to someone who they could not see. Another witness in the pub said that they also saw someone they believed to be Vera talking to a white male said to be in his late-30s early 40s. The man was described as being 5ft 8in to 5ft 11in tall, slim build with sunken temples, mousey coloured hair cut short, a mousy coloured moustache and wearing a fawn jacket. The man also mentioned that they did not appear to be lovers or married but seemed to know each other.

Sketch of the suspect seen with Vera at The Crown and Cushion pub.

Shortly before closing time, the couple believed to be Vera and her companion had left. Nobody saw them leave the pub.

Later on, that evening around 11 pm Vera's car was spotted parked behind the Old Tannery works on Tannery Lane with the headlights on.  The area is about two minutes drive from The Crown and Cushion pub and overlooked by Kenneth Adamson's house. Mr Adamson remembered looking out of his back window in the evening before he went to bed and saw a car parked there with its headlights on. The area was known at the time as a lovers lane or a place where people went to use soft drugs. Due to this, the police would do regular patrols of the area every few hours in the evenings.

At 1:30 am Richard and Ilene Thomas were walking home along Tannery Lane from their local Social Club. They saw the car parked in the works and assumed it must have been a courting couple. Around 3:15 am a police officer discovered Vera's body slumped over the wheel of her car. She had been strangled and had her throat cut in a violent struggle. Her killer had left two items behind at the scene, a length of window sash cord (white) and a white cotton Minette Glove. The glove had come into contact with Vera's body and had likely been dropped and left behind by accident by the killer. It's possible these items may have been things the killer possibly used in his line of work. The knife used to cut Vera's throat has never been recovered. The fact that these items had been taken with the perpetrator to the meeting, shows that the murder of Vera was not a crime of passion or a heat of the moment thing. This shows clear premeditation and intent to kill Vera and attempt to avoid leaving fingerprints at the scene.

Vera Anderson's Ford Cortina

shortly after Vera's murder, another witness came forward and described picking a man up in his taxi on Warrington Road at about 1.30 am. The location where he was picked up is about half a mile from The Crown and Cushion pub and the murder scene. He asked to be taken to Halton View area which is about a hundred yards from Vera Anderson's home at Hadfield Close.  The man was described by the taxi driver as being in his 30s, wearing a raincoat. Significantly the man appeared to have an injured right hand with a handkerchief wrapped around it and his knuckles were grazed. 

On Thursday the 29th of August it was reported in the Liverpool Echo newspaper, that the police were anxious to trace a man and a little girl. They had entered the Sihouette wool shop in Halton View around 2pm on Saturday the 24th of August the same day Vera was murdered: the man purchased wool which he said was for Vera Anderson. This story is given credence in the fact that Vera liked to knit bunny rabbits for babies, she also sold them to truck drivers at the Roll Inn Truck Stop, where she socialised several times a week. The man in question was described as being 45 years old, above six feet tall, short brown hair with a heavy moustache, wearing a  shirt, tie and jacket. He was well built with large hands and possibly spoke with a local accent. The little girl was described as being about 8 years old, with shoulder-length dark hair with a pretty face. The police requested this man come forward as he could have vital information concerning Vera Anderson's murder. To this day as far as I am personally aware, this individual has never come forward. I find this piece of evidence very interesting, especially since Vera was seen later that evening just before her murder with someone who had a moustache, could this possibly be the same person?

It was also reported on Friday 30th of August that an anonymous person had put up a £3000 reward for information leading to Mr's Anderson's murderer being caught. Vera was obviously a very well-liked person and her murder had really upset and hurt the people who knew her.

Glove like the one left behind at the crime scene

29 years will have passed on the 24th of August 2020 this year, and Veronica Anderson's murder still remains unsolved with no clear motive. Looking at the evidence it's clear that this was a premeditated murder. The Killer took a length of cord, gloves and a knife to the meeting, which shows a clear intent to commit a violent assault on Vera. One thing which is not very clear is the motive. 

She was a regular visitor at the Roll Inn Truck Stop Motel in Widnes not far from her home. This was her main outlet for socialising and she would visit there several times a week. She was friends with many of the truck drivers there and had, in fact, had several steady relationships with truck drivers over the years. As far as her friends and family are concerned she was a good mother, well-liked and didn't have any enemies. She had a steady boyfriend who was a truck driver and stayed with her every Friday, then headed back home to the south of England where his family and wife lived.

Although Vera was a happy go lucky women who frequented the Roll Inn Truck Stop and had many truck driver friends, she was not a man mad women. Her daughter Lorraine said her mother was probably the most popular person at the truck stop, she used to do their washing for them and many of them would go to her if they had any problems, she was always happy to help.

It is quite possible that this murder was the result of jealous rage on the part of someone who was romantically interested in her, but that had been one-side, or was it entirely something else?

This crime is a baffling one, I keep mulling over the different possibilities and why this murder happened. One thing for sure is whoever rang Vera that night, whoever they were and whatever they had to say, it was enough to get her to drag her 7-year-old son out of bed and leave him with her neighbour. Then leave her house late in the evening which was out totally out of character. Interestingly, Vera also cleared space in her boot, surely doing this late on a Saturday evening was for a reason, what was she making room for in her boot? Vera also had to know her killer, there is no way the single mother would leave her son like that to go meet a stranger. I also find it curious that she lied to her neighbour about picking up her brother when in fact that was simply not the case. Obviously, Vera didn't want her son or neighbour knowing the real reason why she was going out so late in the evening.

In 1994 after the murder of Julie Finely, there was some suggestion that Vera's murder may have been linked to the unsolved East Lancs Ripper Case. Personally, I don't think that is the case. The East Lancs Ripper murders were all sexually motivated crimes against prostitutes. There is no evidence of a sexual assault on Vera or any signs of robbery as a motive, so there has to be something else. I have two theories on the motive of why Vera was murdered. My personal opinion on this is that this murder was possibly the result of jealous rage from an individual who was romantically interested in Vera. This for me is the most likely reason this murder took place. My other theory is that Vera may have gotten herself involved in something illegal, maybe someone had asked her to do something for them or had confided in her about something, then decided to silence her by taking her life; stranger things have happened before and we must always try and keep an open mind in cases like this. I also believe that whoever killed her was someone she knew and was likely a truck driver from the Roll Inn or someone who lived locally.

If you are from the Warrington or Widnes areas please share this blog with your friend and family. We need to raise the profile of this murder to keep the public informed and help raise awareness of Veronica Anderson's murder. I've said this many times and will say it again, every little help's and every writer, blogger, podcaster or true crime fan has their part to play. Putting out material like this or sharing it on your social media helps massively. It could help someone recollect something about the case which is a valuable piece of evidence. It may also give someone the courage to come forward with something they have held back for years as a result of loyalty or fear, allegiances change as the year's pass by! I would urge anyone who has any evidence regarding Vera's murder to call Crime Stoppers on 0800555111. Alternatively, if you are a family member or friend of Vera and would like to speak to me about the case you can contact me on my page at The True Crime Page Podcast.