Police nailed killers of Earls Barton mum and they will never give up on Northamptonshire's 'cold case' murders

Detectives took just 24 hours to get their man after the shocking murder of Marion Price in Northamptonshire just over a year ago.

Michael Reader, 69, of Booth Rise, Northampton, was charged with shooting the 63-year-old Earls Barton mum-of-two who was found in her car on December 15.

Stephen Welch, 60, of Addlecroft Close, Kingsthorpe, was also charged five days later.

The pair were found guilty at Northampton Crown Court earlier this month and both jailed for life last Monday.

On the same day, four men appeared in court charged with the murder of 33-year-old Christopher Allbury-Burridge in Northampton earlier this month.

But the murders of more than 20 people remain unsolved on the books of Northamptonshire Police — some dating back nearly 70 years.

But a force spokesman insisted: "We will never forget those people who have had their lives taken away at the hand of another and remain committed to seeking justice in those cases that remain unsolved.

"All unsolved murder cases remain open and are reviewed regularly to establish if there are any fresh opportunities for us to investigate.

"Any new information is responded to and we will pursue any lines of enquiry available to us. This can be as a result of advancements in forensic techniques or because we have received new information."

The oldest unsolved murder was on October 25, 1952, in the sleepy village of Ashton, near Oundle where popular gamekeeper George Peach, 64, and 67-year-old wife Lillian Peach were beaten to death at home in the middle of the night.

More than 100 men were questioned, but police could not make anything stick.

One man was charged 12 years after the murder of 76-year-old pet shop worker Arthur Brumhill, who was found dead in the basement of his store in March 1993.

Fresh forensic information led to a trial at Crown Court that ended with a verdict of not guilty.

A teenager was also acquitted in 1988 of murdering 13-year-old Carol Baldwin who was stabbed in the chest in a park in Northampton.

And in August 2011, 76-year-old Hungarian Karoly Varga — known as Charlie — was bludgeoned to death by an ‘axe-like’ weapon at his home in Cannon Street, Wellingborough.

Elemer Patakfalvi was arrested and charged but prosecutors dropped the case against him.

Other horrific cases include the body of a baby who has never been unidentified after being discovered strangled and wrapped in cloth near Northampton train station in May 1982.

Cyril Fensome, 62, 60-year-old Florence Pennell and seven-year-old Stacey Darlington all died when petrol was poured through a letterbox in Northampton and set alight in 1987.

And three-year-old Callum Bland also died following an arson attack outside his home in Wellingborough in March 2007.

The disappearance of Kettering teenager Sarah Benford from a care home in April 2000 was escalated to a murder enquiry in 2003.

Just last year, police searched an area of woodland near Kettering ahead of what would have been her 30th birthday. But, despite pursuing more than 5,000 lines of enquiry and making eight arrests, police have never solved the case.

Earlier this year fresh appeals were made after Police received "helpful calls" about the death of 15-year-old Sean McGann.

The teenager's body was found strangled in an alleyway near Birchfield Road East, Abington, the morning after he was due to visit a funfair in April 1979.

Police charged Londoner Cameron St Rose, 26, with murder in connection with the death of David Brickwood in Abington in 2015 but three more cases from 2015 still remain unsolved.

Jon Casey was stabbed in Barrack Road in January, but suspect Waijs Dahir is believed to have fled the UK.

The remains of Adeyemi Olugbuyi - known as ‘Big Man’ - were found by litter pickers in Billing Brook Road in June 2016.

He was reported as missing since September 2013 and is believed to have hidden there in a bid to escape knife-wielding attackers.

Despite a number of arrests, nobody has ever been convicted.

Other unsolved cases:

Avis West, 82. Murdered in her home in Northampton, 1976.

Susan Ovens, 27, Sidney Hickling, 27, and Dolphus Smith, 57. Shot at close range in their Rushden caravans, 1981.

Percy Francis, 70. Stabbed and hit with object in Rushden, 1988.

John Reynolds, 40. Shot whilst walking dogs in Rushden, 1993.

Albert Bowers, 57. Beaten in Northampton and later died of blood clot, 1998.

Mithat Lleshi, 23, and Astrit Cakoni, 28. Attacked outside Northampton shop, 2001.

Mavis Clift, 65. Died after Northampton house set on fire, 2008.

Abdi Leban, 32. Died in suspicious fire in block of flats in Northampton, 2008.

David Ross, 39. Found dead in Corby hotel room, 2012.

Helen Gormeley, 64. Missing person since 1986. Case taken over by Humberside Police and made a murder enquiry in 2015.

Shane Fox, 26. Died of a stab wound to chest in Wellingborough, 2018.