Web diary

I came home feeling like we had achieved very little. The police officer who had investigated the case back in 1989 was now retired but I overheard him speaking to the new head of Norwood Police station, Supt John Miles, and told him the suspect had admitted being in my mother’s house but had denied the assault. But when I tried to set up a meeting to talk to this police officer, he evaded me and I was not able to see him. He also denied over the phone that he had ever said what I’d clearly heard him say, and I realised that he wasn’t going to be much help in any new investigation. I also met Charlene Smith and she urged me to keep going, despite the obstacles, saying that if you want justice, you have to fight and fight and fight...

Laura, however, was encouraged by my efforts and felt that his admission that he was in her house that night confirmed to her that she had identified the right suspect. She encouraged me to keep going and so I spent the next year raising finance for a one hour documentary and making arrangements to go back for a longer period of time, to try and get some resolution or justice in this case.