Janet Murgatroyd murder 30 years on - the full story as police continue hunt for killer

Today marks 30 years since the murder of Janet Murgatroyd, 20, who’s body was found in the River Ribble in Preston after a night out in the city.

Three decades later, Lancashire Police remain committed to finding her killer as they seek justice for the murdered student from Penwortham.

This is the tragic story of Janet Murgatroyd, the happy-go-lucky student who went out shopping and socialising with friends and never came home...

A student at the University of Central Lancashire and a part-time staff member with Lancashire Police at the force’s Hutton HQ, Janet had much to look forward to that summer day on June 15, 1996.

It was the same day England beat Scotland in the classic Euro 96 clash, and the Arndale Shopping Centre bombing in Manchester. Janet had spent the day shopping in Preston before enjoying drinks with friends in the city’s pubs, including the The Adelphi and Legends - a popular snooker club and night spot at the Deepdale ground of Preston North End.

That night, she was seen leaving The Old Black Bull in Friargate with a fellow UCLan student before separating from him. Instead of getting a taxi, Janet decided to make her own way home and was later spotted sleeping on Fishergate near Preston Railway Station.

Drug addict Raymond Hayes spotted Janet collapsed on the pavement and instead of helping her, callously stole her purse and bought a KFC meal with the cash.

She awoke and stumbled on towards Broadgate, heading for Penwortham Bridge - the main river crossing along Liverpool Road (A59). It was 1.10am when she reached the bridge, where John Livesey and his mother spotted her as they were driving home.

Concerned at her state, the late hour and the fact she was alone Mr Livesey’s mother urged him to stop and pick her up but he refused because he thought she might be sick in his car.

A few minutes later, taxi driver Ashleigh Sperren witnessed a man chasing a woman down the middle of the road along the bridge. She was just a mile and a half from home. It was the last time Janet would be seen alive.

At 1.30am, two brothers crossing the bridge said they heard a muffled, high pitched wail coming from bushes on the southern banks of the Ribble, near Priory Park. They turned to see where the noise was coming from and heard the sound of snapping twigs being trampled in the undergrowth.

The pair a shadowy figure crouching down about 15m away but were unable to get a good look at him in the darkness. Lancashire Police detectives believed this was Janet and her killer.

At lunchtime the following day - Sunday, June 16 - a dog walker on the banks of the River Ribble spotted her body floating face down in the water, near the railway viaduct.

He shouted to a speed boat driver pulling a water skier along the Ribble, who pulled Janet’s body out of the water near Margaret Road, Lower Penwortham. She brought ashore on the slipway at Preston Sea Cadet, just yards from where she was last seen alive less than 12 hours earlier.

Janet had been stripped naked and brutally attacked. Her body was covered in scratches after being dragged naked through the riverside undergrowth by her killer. A post mortem examination revealed she had been beaten and kicked in the head, knocked unconscious and stamped on before being dumped in the river.

She suffered 59 injuries, mainly to the head and face, including a fractured jaw and a broken nose. Finger shaped bruise marks were found on her face, indicating the killer had clasped his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming.

Police suspected she had also been the victim of a sexual assault. Investigators believe she was probably lying on a sand bank for some hours before the tidal flow washed her into the river. Unconscious and unable to move, Janet drowned.

Hunt for her killer

Lancashire Police drafted in one of the force’s most senior murder squad officers to head the investigation into the killing. Detective Superintendent Graham Gooch put together a 50-strong team based in an incident room not far from where Janet worked part-time at the force headquarters in Hutton.

LEP photographer Darren Andrews, while taking pictures at the scene, found Janet’s bloodstained blouse and alerted police. The spot was close to where the Richardson brothers had heard a disturbance that fateful night.

A £5,000 reward was put up by the Crimestoppers for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer. The sum was later matched by the Lancashire Evening Post, while BBC Crimewatch broadcast a nationwide appeal, which attracted more than 50 calls to the incident room.

But none provided the breakthrough police were looking for in the hunt for her killer, and 30 years on it remains one of Lancashire’s most infamous unsolved murders.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “We still desperately want to solve this crime and anyone who has information about Janet’s murder can contact the force in confidence.”

This article is abridged from the book Lancashire’s Most Notorious Murders by Mike Hill and Nicola Adam.

Anyone with information can call Lancashire Police on 101.