Leanne Tiernan
Encyclopedia
The murder of Leanne Tiernan was a high-profile English
child abduction
and murder
involving a schoolgirl
who was abducted
less than one mile
from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas
shopping trip in Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, and subsequently murder
ed. The missing persons inquiry which followed was one of the largest in the history of West Yorkshire Police
, involving the search of around 1,750 buildings, underwater searches of thirty-two drainage wells
, the draining of a two mile section of canal and the halting of household waste collection
s. Her body was discovered on 20 August 2001 in dense woodland just 50 yards from a busy car park at Lindley Woods near Otley
, on the border of North
and West Yorkshire
. Post mortem examination indicated that Tiernan's body had only been at the woodland site for a matter of weeks, and had been stored in a cold, dry place for the previous nine months. Following the discovery of her body, DNA samples were taken from 200 people, including family, friends and known sex offender
s living in the area. Forensic evidence led police to her killer, John Taylor
, who lived only 1,300 yards from Tiernan's home. On 8 July 2002 Taylor pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court
to her kidnap and murder and received two life sentences
, with the trial judge telling him that he should expect to spend the rest of his life in prison. At the end of his trial, the police officers who brought him to justice spoke of their belief that he may have been responsible for other unsolved murders, including the 1992 murder of Bradford
prostitute Yvonne Fitt.
On 3 April 2003, following a police review of unsolved sexual attacks in the area, Taylor pleaded guilty to two separate rape
s committed before the schoolgirl's murder and received a further sentence of life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 30 years. As a result of the Tiernan murder inquiry police re-opened at least ten further cold case murder investigations.
by bus after a shopping trip to Leeds city centre. The girls parted company at Houghley Lane, and Whitehouse last saw her setting off along an unlit path through an area of wooded wasteland known as Houghley Gill. When Whitehouse arrived home, she telephoned Tiernan's home and was surprised to find she was not there. At 17.20 Tiernan's mother rang her mobile phone to find out where she was, but the phone rang out for some time and then cut off. When she rang it again, it was cut off after four rings. At 19.00 she rang the police and reported her daughter as a missing person.
The police immediately began a missing person inquiry, headed by Detective Superintendent
Chris Gregg
, and a search of the area where Tiernan was last seen was undertaken, although no trace of her was found. As the inquiry progressed, it became one of the largest ever undertaken by West Yorkshire Police
, involving up to 200 officers and hundreds of volunteers. More than 1,400 house-to-house inquiries were conducted, 800 houses along her probable route, designated by the police as "Red Route", were searched, along with 800 sheds, garages and outbuildings and 150 commercial premises within a half-mile radius of Houghley Gill. DNA samples were taken from 140 men interviewed by the police in connection with the inquiry and twelve search warrant
s were executed at various addresses in Leeds. The West Yorkshire Police Underwater Search unit carried out a search of a three-mile section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
between Spring Garden lock and Bramley Falls, two miles of which was drained to a depth of one metre. The unit also searched thirty-two drain shafts in the area and Yorkshire Water
were called in to help locate disused and abandoned drains and wells. Collections of household waste were halted temporarily to allow police to search all bins in the area for evidence. The inquiry also received assistance from British Waterways
, British Transport Police
, the Ministry of Defence’s
aerial reconnaissance department, Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team, Interpol
and the Police National Search Centre, a joint police and military
training facility. On 3 December 2000, police staged a reconstruction of the girls' last movements, reenacted by Sarah Whitehouse and Tiernan's older sister Michelle, in the hope of jogging the memory of potential witnesses about Leanne's movements. Detectives also sent text messages to Tiernan's mobile phone, which was now switched off, but had briefly been activated on 27 November 2000. A local businessman offered a £
10,000 reward for information leading to her safe return, and supermarket chain Iceland
printed her picture and details on milk cartons sold at its stores nationwide.
On 4 December 2000 police released an E-FIT
facial composite of a man who had been seen walking a dog in the Houghley Gill area shortly before Tiernan disappeared. He was described as being "5 feet 8 inches tall and of stocky build with a round, reddish face that may possibly be scarred... wearing a black woollen hat, a three-quarter-length waterproof jacket and dirty jeans." The E-FIT would later prove to be an accurate likeness of John Taylor. Two witnesses came forward who said that they had heard a woman's "high-pitched scream" in the area at around the time Tiernan disappeared, but there were no other witnesses and no confirmed sightings of her. No evidence of a struggle was found, and no evidence linked to her abduction was ever found.
Yvonne Fitt, had been discovered buried in 1992. Tiernan was identified from her fingerprints on 22 August 2001, and DS Gregg announced that the inquiry had now become a murder investigation, codenamed Operation Conifer. Tiernan's body had been wrapped inside nine green plastic bin bag
s secured with twine
, with a black bin bag secured around her head with a leather dog collar
, then placed inside a floral-patterned duvet cover
. Tiernan's Ellesse
coat and black boots were not found. Plastic cable tie
s had been used as a ligature to strangle her and more ties had been used to bind her hands. A dark coloured scarf
was also wrapped around her neck. Her hair was still tied in a ponytail with the same band and hairclips that she had been wearing when she disappeared. There was no evidence of a sexual assault, but the absence of her jacket and boots and the position of her underwear were among forensic evidence indicating a sexual motive. The state of decomposition of Tiernan's body led some forensic experts to believe that after her death she had been kept in cold storage or a freezer up until a few weeks before the body was found, in part to avoid detection and in part as a trophy. A cryobiology
expert was called in to examine the microstructure of Tiernan's cardiac tissue
, and concluded that the body could have been kept frozen for some time, taking into account the air temperatures for the months between her disappearance and the discovery of the body. Police made a public appeal for anyone who might have been in Lindley Woods recently or had information about others who regularly visited the area to come forward and contact police.
at Leeds Crown Court and entered a plea of guilty with respect to the abduction of Leanne Tiernan. He was not asked to enter a plea on the charge of murder, pending a separate Newton hearing
, and was remanded into custody awaiting the trial. On 8 July 2002, the first day of the trial, he entered a plea of guilty with respect to the murder of Leanne Tiernan. He was sentenced the same day, and Mr. Justice Astill, sentencing, said: "After the death of this girl at your hands you wanted sexual deviancy with a girl of similar age. That not only demonstrates how dangerous you are but demonstrates your lack of remorse. Not by chance were you in this area for this purpose. You were not acting on impulse, you chose a secluded place and a vulnerable young girl who suited your purposes. This was as cold and calculating as can be imagined. You are a dangerous sexual sadist. Your purpose in kidnapping this young girl was so that you could satisfy your perverted cravings. The suffering you caused her and the suffering you continue to cause those who loved her simply cannot be measured. You must expect to spend the rest of your life in custody." Taylor was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, and the judge recommended that he must serve 25 years before being considered for release by the Parole Board
. This was subsequently reduced to a minimum of 20 years by The Lord Woolf
, then presiding as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
.
At the conclusion of the trial DS Gregg announced: "We do not believe that this is the first major crime he has committed. We feel that the way this murder was pre-planned, and the way he hid and disposed of the body, was calculated. We cannot exclude the possibility he has killed before."
:
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
child abduction
Child abduction
Child abduction or Child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor from the custody of the child's natural or legally appointed guardians....
and murder
Child murder
The murder of children is considered an abhorrent crime in much of the world; they are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death often involves...
involving a schoolgirl
Schoolgirl
A schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...
who was abducted
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
less than one mile
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
shopping trip in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, and subsequently murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed. The missing persons inquiry which followed was one of the largest in the history of West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing West Yorkshire in England. It is the fourth largest force in England and Wales by number of officers, with 5671 officers....
, involving the search of around 1,750 buildings, underwater searches of thirty-two drainage wells
Storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer , stormwater drain or drainage well system or simply a drain or drain system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems...
, the draining of a two mile section of canal and the halting of household waste collection
Waste collection
Waste collection is the component of waste management which results in the passage of a waste material from the source of production to either the point of treatment or final disposal...
s. Her body was discovered on 20 August 2001 in dense woodland just 50 yards from a busy car park at Lindley Woods near Otley
Otley
-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
, on the border of North
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
and West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. Post mortem examination indicated that Tiernan's body had only been at the woodland site for a matter of weeks, and had been stored in a cold, dry place for the previous nine months. Following the discovery of her body, DNA samples were taken from 200 people, including family, friends and known sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s living in the area. Forensic evidence led police to her killer, John Taylor
John Taylor (criminal)
John Taylor is a British convicted murderer and rapist. He was a parcel delivery worker for Parcelforce, and lived on the same estate in Bramley, Leeds, as Leanne Tiernan and within a mile of where she was last seen alive. He was known locally as "the pet man", as he kept a number of dogs and...
, who lived only 1,300 yards from Tiernan's home. On 8 July 2002 Taylor pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court is the highest court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated in Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts.-Notable cases:...
to her kidnap and murder and received two life sentences
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, with the trial judge telling him that he should expect to spend the rest of his life in prison. At the end of his trial, the police officers who brought him to justice spoke of their belief that he may have been responsible for other unsolved murders, including the 1992 murder of Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
prostitute Yvonne Fitt.
On 3 April 2003, following a police review of unsolved sexual attacks in the area, Taylor pleaded guilty to two separate rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s committed before the schoolgirl's murder and received a further sentence of life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 30 years. As a result of the Tiernan murder inquiry police re-opened at least ten further cold case murder investigations.
Abduction and missing person inquiry
Tiernan was last seen at 16.50 on 26 November 2000 when she and her friend, 15-year old Sarah Whitehouse, returned to BramleyBramley, Leeds
Bramley is a district in west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is an old industrial area and home to a lot of 19th century architecture alongside 20th century council housing in the east and private suburban housing to the west. It has its own railway station which is on the Caldervale and...
by bus after a shopping trip to Leeds city centre. The girls parted company at Houghley Lane, and Whitehouse last saw her setting off along an unlit path through an area of wooded wasteland known as Houghley Gill. When Whitehouse arrived home, she telephoned Tiernan's home and was surprised to find she was not there. At 17.20 Tiernan's mother rang her mobile phone to find out where she was, but the phone rang out for some time and then cut off. When she rang it again, it was cut off after four rings. At 19.00 she rang the police and reported her daughter as a missing person.
The police immediately began a missing person inquiry, headed by Detective Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
Chris Gregg
Chris Gregg
Chris Gregg QPM, is a former Detective Chief Superintendent and was head of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team . Gregg joined the force in 1974 and as a constable was put on front-line duties in the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry in the Helen Rytka murder incident room...
, and a search of the area where Tiernan was last seen was undertaken, although no trace of her was found. As the inquiry progressed, it became one of the largest ever undertaken by West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing West Yorkshire in England. It is the fourth largest force in England and Wales by number of officers, with 5671 officers....
, involving up to 200 officers and hundreds of volunteers. More than 1,400 house-to-house inquiries were conducted, 800 houses along her probable route, designated by the police as "Red Route", were searched, along with 800 sheds, garages and outbuildings and 150 commercial premises within a half-mile radius of Houghley Gill. DNA samples were taken from 140 men interviewed by the police in connection with the inquiry and twelve search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
s were executed at various addresses in Leeds. The West Yorkshire Police Underwater Search unit carried out a search of a three-mile section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
between Spring Garden lock and Bramley Falls, two miles of which was drained to a depth of one metre. The unit also searched thirty-two drain shafts in the area and Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its origins in the Yorkshire Water Authority, one of ten...
were called in to help locate disused and abandoned drains and wells. Collections of household waste were halted temporarily to allow police to search all bins in the area for evidence. The inquiry also received assistance from British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
, British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
, the Ministry of Defence’s
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
aerial reconnaissance department, Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team, Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and the Police National Search Centre, a joint police and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
training facility. On 3 December 2000, police staged a reconstruction of the girls' last movements, reenacted by Sarah Whitehouse and Tiernan's older sister Michelle, in the hope of jogging the memory of potential witnesses about Leanne's movements. Detectives also sent text messages to Tiernan's mobile phone, which was now switched off, but had briefly been activated on 27 November 2000. A local businessman offered a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
10,000 reward for information leading to her safe return, and supermarket chain Iceland
Iceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
printed her picture and details on milk cartons sold at its stores nationwide.
On 4 December 2000 police released an E-FIT
E-FIT
Electronic Facial Identification Technique is a computer-based method that produce facial composites of wanted criminals based on eyewitness descriptions. Janina Kaminska at the UK Home Office proposed the term in 1984...
facial composite of a man who had been seen walking a dog in the Houghley Gill area shortly before Tiernan disappeared. He was described as being "5 feet 8 inches tall and of stocky build with a round, reddish face that may possibly be scarred... wearing a black woollen hat, a three-quarter-length waterproof jacket and dirty jeans." The E-FIT would later prove to be an accurate likeness of John Taylor. Two witnesses came forward who said that they had heard a woman's "high-pitched scream" in the area at around the time Tiernan disappeared, but there were no other witnesses and no confirmed sightings of her. No evidence of a struggle was found, and no evidence linked to her abduction was ever found.
Discovery of body and murder investigation
On 20 August 2001 Tiernan's body was found by Mark Bisson, who was walking his two dogs in Lindley Woods, North Yorkshire, 100 yards from where another murder victim, prostituteProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
Yvonne Fitt, had been discovered buried in 1992. Tiernan was identified from her fingerprints on 22 August 2001, and DS Gregg announced that the inquiry had now become a murder investigation, codenamed Operation Conifer. Tiernan's body had been wrapped inside nine green plastic bin bag
Bin bag
A bin bag, swag sack or bin liner or garbage bag, trash bag, refuse sack, black sack, or can liner is a disposable bag used to contain rubbish. Such bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides of the receptacle from becoming coated in waste material...
s secured with twine
Twine
Twine is a light string or strong thread composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord....
, with a black bin bag secured around her head with a leather dog collar
Dog collar
A dog collar is a is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar might be used for control, identification, fashion, or other purposes. Identification tags and medical information is often placed on dog collars. Collars are also useful for controlling a dog manually, as they provide...
, then placed inside a floral-patterned duvet cover
Duvet
A duvet from the French duvet "down"), is a type of bedding — a soft flat bag filled with down, feathers, or a synthetic alternative, and protected with a removable cover, analogous to a pillow and pillow case...
. Tiernan's Ellesse
Ellesse
-History:Ellesse was founded by Leonardo Servadio in Perugia in 1959. The name Ellesse derives from the initials of Servadio's name, "L.S."Ellesse grew in popularity during the 1970s as a producer of skiwear such as quilted jackets and ski pants...
coat and black boots were not found. Plastic cable tie
Cable tie
A cable tie, also known as a zip tie or tie-wrap , is a type of fastener, especially for binding several electronic cables or wires together and to organize cables and wires.-Design and use:...
s had been used as a ligature to strangle her and more ties had been used to bind her hands. A dark coloured scarf
Scarf
A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
was also wrapped around her neck. Her hair was still tied in a ponytail with the same band and hairclips that she had been wearing when she disappeared. There was no evidence of a sexual assault, but the absence of her jacket and boots and the position of her underwear were among forensic evidence indicating a sexual motive. The state of decomposition of Tiernan's body led some forensic experts to believe that after her death she had been kept in cold storage or a freezer up until a few weeks before the body was found, in part to avoid detection and in part as a trophy. A cryobiology
Cryobiology
Cryobiology is the branch of biology that studies the effects of low temperatures on living things. The word cryobiology is derived from the Greek words "cryo" = cold, "bios" = life, and "logos" = science. In practice, cryobiology is the study of biological material or systems at temperatures below...
expert was called in to examine the microstructure of Tiernan's cardiac tissue
Human heart
The human heart is a muscular organ that provides a continuous blood circulation through the cardiac cycle and is one of the most vital organs in the human body...
, and concluded that the body could have been kept frozen for some time, taking into account the air temperatures for the months between her disappearance and the discovery of the body. Police made a public appeal for anyone who might have been in Lindley Woods recently or had information about others who regularly visited the area to come forward and contact police.
Forensic evidence linking Taylor to Tiernan
- The leather dog collar found on Tiernan's body was manufactured by a company based in NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
who sold it to 220 separate wholesalers. Detective Constable David Wilson began contacting each of them to ask if they had records of sales to anyone in the Leeds area. The 112th company contacted was a LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-based mail orderMail orderMail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
company called Pets Pyjamas who confirmed that they had made three sales in the area, and emailed a list to DC Wilson. Taylor's name was one of the customers, and this was immediately flagged up for attention as a name previously provided following the appeal by DS Gregg. This was a major breakthrough for the investigation which now considered Taylor the prime suspectPrime suspectA prime suspect is the person who is considered by the law enforcement agency investigating a crime to be the most likely suspect.There are various reasons a person may be considered a prime suspect...
and the police exercised a search warrant at his home. - Scientists at the Forensic Science ServiceForensic Science ServiceThe Forensic Science Service is a government-owned company in the United Kingdom which provides forensic science services to the police forces and government agencies of England and Wales, as well as other countries.-History:...
(FSS) examined the scarf which had been tied around Tiernan's neck and found a hair caught in the knot which did not belong to her. The FSS were unable to extract a DNA profile from the hair's root using conventional DNA tests so carried out mitochondrial DNA testing within the shaft of the hair. This provided a DNA profile which matched Taylor's. - FSS examination of the twine showed that it was of a unique type only manufactured by a company in DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, EnglandEnglandEngland 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...
. They usually only supplied products to the Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
but a small "one-off" batch had been sold to the public for use as rabbit catch nets. This batch was an exact match for the twine used on Tiernan's body and also subsequently found at Taylor's home. - The yellow cable ties found on Tiernan's body were identified as being manufactured by an ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
company who sold 99% of them to the Royal MailRoyal MailRoyal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
, of which Taylor's employer ParcelforceParcelforceParcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd.Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide...
was a subsidiary. The same cable ties were found in Taylor's home when it was searched by police. - Pieces of green plastic identical to that which had been used to wrap the body were found in Taylor's home.
- Traces of red nylonNylonNylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
carpet fibres were found on Tiernan's clothing, which the FSS described as very distinctive, due to the unusual way in which the fibre had been dyeDyeA dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
d. When police searched Taylor's home, they discovered that he had recently removed all carpeting from the house and burned it, but small traces of fibres matching those on the body were found caught on nails in the floorboards. - The FSS employed an expert in forensic pollen analysisForensic palynologyForensic palynology is the study of pollen and powdered minerals, their identification, and where and when they occur, to ascertain that a body or other object was in a certain place at a certain time....
who was able to demonstrate that Tiernan had been in Taylor's garden just before she was killed based on the distinctive types of pollen found in her nasal cavity, on her skin and in her hair.
Trial
On 15 February 2002 Taylor appeared before Mr. Justice PooleDavid Poole (judge)
Sir David Anthony Poole was an English barrister and High Court judge. He is perhaps best known for representing Eric Cantona on charges of a "flying kick" assault of an opposition spectator in 1995.-Life and career:...
at Leeds Crown Court and entered a plea of guilty with respect to the abduction of Leanne Tiernan. He was not asked to enter a plea on the charge of murder, pending a separate Newton hearing
Newton hearing
A Newton hearing or inquiry is a comparatively modern legal procedure used where the two sides offer such conflicting evidence that a judge sitting alone tries to ascertain which party is telling the truth...
, and was remanded into custody awaiting the trial. On 8 July 2002, the first day of the trial, he entered a plea of guilty with respect to the murder of Leanne Tiernan. He was sentenced the same day, and Mr. Justice Astill, sentencing, said: "After the death of this girl at your hands you wanted sexual deviancy with a girl of similar age. That not only demonstrates how dangerous you are but demonstrates your lack of remorse. Not by chance were you in this area for this purpose. You were not acting on impulse, you chose a secluded place and a vulnerable young girl who suited your purposes. This was as cold and calculating as can be imagined. You are a dangerous sexual sadist. Your purpose in kidnapping this young girl was so that you could satisfy your perverted cravings. The suffering you caused her and the suffering you continue to cause those who loved her simply cannot be measured. You must expect to spend the rest of your life in custody." Taylor was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, and the judge recommended that he must serve 25 years before being considered for release by the Parole Board
Parole Board for England and Wales
The Parole Board for England and Wales was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act of 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about...
. This was subsequently reduced to a minimum of 20 years by The Lord Woolf
Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf
Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf, PC, FBA, , born 2 May 1933, was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 made him the first Lord Chief Justice to be President of the Courts of England and Wales...
, then presiding as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
.
At the conclusion of the trial DS Gregg announced: "We do not believe that this is the first major crime he has committed. We feel that the way this murder was pre-planned, and the way he hid and disposed of the body, was calculated. We cannot exclude the possibility he has killed before."
Television
The murder of Leanne Tiernan has been the subject of several television documentariesDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
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- Looking for Leanne (2002) - Produced by Katherine Blair for Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
, this documentary focused on the police and forensic experts who built the case against Taylor. It was first aired in Britain on 9 July 2002 on ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. - Killer in the Woods (2003) - Produced and directed by Jessica Fowle for True North ProductionsTrue North ProductionsTrue North Productions is an independent British television production company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The company creates factual programmes and series in a wide variety of genres, including observational documentary, crime, current affairs, history, wildlife, food,...
, this 48 minute programme first aired at 22.55 on 25 February 2003 on Britain's Five channel and featured exclusive footage of Taylor's police interviews. - Real Crime: Girlsnatcher (2004) - Produced and directed by Rick Goodwin for Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
, this 65 minute programme was part of a series examining well-known or unsolved crime cases from a new perspective, and first aired at 23.00 on 29 March 2004 on Britain's ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
channel. The programme detailed the missing person inquiry and Taylor's history of sexual violence towards women. - Crimewatch: How they caught the Leeds strangler (2009) - Originally aired as part of CrimewatchCrimewatchCrimewatch 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...
, the BBC'sBBCThe 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...
long-running and high-profile television programme that reconstructs major crimes. - Someone's Daughter, Someone's Son - ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
(First broadcast 19 August 2011)
See also
- Murder of Amanda Dowler
- Murder of Danielle Jones
- Murder of Hannah Williams
- Soham murdersSoham murdersThe Soham murders was an English murder case in 2002 of two 10-year-old girls in the village of Soham, Cambridgeshire.The victims were Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman...
External links
- Crimewatch: How they caught the Leeds strangler - BBCBBCThe 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...
online video.