Eve Stratford
Encyclopedia
Eve Stratford was an English Playboy Club
bunny and model
, murdered in 1975. Lynne Weedon (1959 - September 1975) was a schoolgirl raped and beaten to death 6 months after Stratford. Their killer was never found. After Weedon's cold case was re-opened in 2004 new DNA techniques showed that she and Stratford were killed by the same person. Stratford's case was re-opened in 2007.
in 1953 to Albert and Liza Stratford. Her mother was German, and met her father, a medic in the Royal Army Medical Corps
, in the 1940s. The family moved around the world during Eve's childhood, eventually settling in Aldershot
. In 1972 she moved with her boyfriend to Leyton. At the time of her death Stratford was working as a bunny in the Playboy Club
in Park Lane
, she had started work at the club in 1973, recommended by a friend. Shortly before her death she appeared as the March 1975 centrefold in Mayfair magazine
.
Police tracked Stratford's movements on the day of her death, visiting Camden
and Bayswater
, there was no sign of her being followed. At 4:30pm the women living below her flat hear a male and female voice talking, followed by a bump.
. She was discovered the next morning, and despite her injuries was still alive, but died a week later in hospital without regaining consciousness.
At the time no killer was found in either case.
technology showed that both murders were committed by the same person. As a result of the link Stratford's was re-opened. Both were featured in September 2007 on the BBC
Crimewatch
program, where DCI Andy Mortimer suggested that both murders were sexually motivated.
As of 2010 the cases are still open. Operation Stealth, the police operation which has been investigating unsolved murders since 2008, received funding to continue work until the end of 2011.
Playboy Club
The Playboy Club initially was a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room...
bunny and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, murdered in 1975. Lynne Weedon (1959 - September 1975) was a schoolgirl raped and beaten to death 6 months after Stratford. Their killer was never found. After Weedon's cold case was re-opened in 2004 new DNA techniques showed that she and Stratford were killed by the same person. Stratford's case was re-opened in 2007.
Eve Stratford
Eve Stratford was born in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1953 to Albert and Liza Stratford. Her mother was German, and met her father, a medic in the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
, in the 1940s. The family moved around the world during Eve's childhood, eventually settling in Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
. In 1972 she moved with her boyfriend to Leyton. At the time of her death Stratford was working as a bunny in the Playboy Club
Playboy Club
The Playboy Club initially was a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room...
in Park Lane
Park Lane (road)
Park Lane is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London.-History:Originally a country lane running north-south along what is now the eastern boundary of Hyde Park, it became a fashionable residential address from the eighteenth century onwards, offering both views across Hyde Park...
, she had started work at the club in 1973, recommended by a friend. Shortly before her death she appeared as the March 1975 centrefold in Mayfair magazine
Mayfair (magazine)
Mayfair is a British adult magazine for men. Founded in 1965, it was designed as a response to U.S. magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse, which had recently launched in the UK. For many years it claimed the largest distribution of any men's magazine in the UK.-Fisk Publishing era:Mayfair was...
.
Stratford
Stratford was found dead by her boyfriend, on March 18 1975, at their Lyndhurst Drive flat in Leyton. Her throat had been cut between eight and 12 times. She was found partially clothed with a nylon stocking was tied around one ankle and her hands were bound with a scarf.Police tracked Stratford's movements on the day of her death, visiting Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
and Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
, there was no sign of her being followed. At 4:30pm the women living below her flat hear a male and female voice talking, followed by a bump.
Weedon
16 year old Lynne Weedon was raped and beaten over the head with a blunt object on 3 September 1975, six months after Stratford's death. She was attacked while taking a short-cut to her home in HounslowHounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
. She was discovered the next morning, and despite her injuries was still alive, but died a week later in hospital without regaining consciousness.
At the time no killer was found in either case.
Cold case
In 2004 the Weedon investigation was re-opened. In 2007 new DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
technology showed that both murders were committed by the same person. As a result of the link Stratford's was re-opened. Both were featured in September 2007 on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Crimewatch
Crimewatch
Crimewatch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC One...
program, where DCI Andy Mortimer suggested that both murders were sexually motivated.
As of 2010 the cases are still open. Operation Stealth, the police operation which has been investigating unsolved murders since 2008, received funding to continue work until the end of 2011.