North and mid Essex unsolved murder cases

Essex Police and Suffolk Police say they are regularly reviewing open cases with the hope of bringing the culprits to justice.

There are many unsolved murder cases in north and mid-Essex, with loved ones yet to know the full story of their murder. 

The following list includes some of the cases yet to be solved. 

Anyone wanting to give information on an unsolved case can call 101.

Mary Kriek

Mary Kriek (Image: Newsquest)

Mary Kriek was killed in January 1958 after getting off a bus in Foxes Corner in Eight Ash Green.

The Dutch au pair got off the bus at 10.45pm but never made it home.

She lived a 300-yard walk from the bus stop, in Bullbanks Farm.

She was later found dead by a cyclist a 20-minute drive away in Dedham Road near Boxted having been beaten over the head with a tyre lever.

No one has ever been convicted in connection with her death.

Linda Smith

Linda Smith (Image: Newsquest)

Miss Smith was running an errand on Monday, January 16, 1961, when she went missing.

The 12-year-old girl who lived in Foundry Lane in Earls Colne was found dead about 12 miles away four days later.

Her body was found in a ditch in Hadleigh Heath, Polstead, Suffolk.

Detectives believe she had been strangled with her own school scarf.

She was killed after leaving her great aunt’s house in Earls Colne on her way to the newsagents.

The trip would usually take about 15 minutes and she did the errand on most days.

A number of people had seen Linda making her way down Burrows Road on the day she went missing.

She was also seen looking through the newsagent’s window, but she didn’t go in.

She was said to have crossed the road and was chatting to a local cobbler.

Many people were in the High Street but Lina was not seen alive again.

Diane Jones

Diane Jones (Image: Newsquest)

Mrs Jones was the 35-year-old wife of a doctor living in Coggeshall.

On July 23, 1983, the pair went out for drinks at their local public house.

The couple left at about 11pm and drove home to Coggeshall.

Diane was last seen at the front gate to their house as she got out of the car whilst her husband parked it.

She was reported missing to police, nine days later.

Her body was found three months later on October 22, 1983, in a copse adjacent to the A1093 road at Martlesham, Suffolk.

She was two months pregnant and had multiple skull fractures.

Police believe she had been battered with a spiked hammer shortly after she went missing.

Police continued making extensive enquiries in Suffolk and Essex but a weapon was never found.

The investigation continued in the years since as further pieces of information came to light.

Diane’s killer has not been brought to justice.

Paul Duckenfield

Paul Duckenfield (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Duckenfield, 41, was last seen arriving on Monday, September 15, 2008.

He lived with his wife and two children in Portugal.

He would regularly return to the UK on business trips, flying in to Stansted or East Midlands.

He was believed to be involved in dealing steroids used by bodybuilders and athletes.

He was also believed to have visited gyms and leisure facilities when he visited the Great Saling and Braintree areas.

On the day he was last seen he was picked up from the airport by a business partner he had known for several years.

The last independent sighting of Mr Duckenfield was in the evening of September 15, 2008, at the Palm Trees restaurant in Great Saling.

He had planned to return home to his family on September 19 or 20 by flying from East Midlands Airport to Faro, but did not make the flight and has never been seen or heard from since.

His body has never been recovered, but detectives believe he was murdered in the Essex area on or around September 16.