Police uncover new evidence in unsolved murder of mother stabbed to death while walking dog in Cornwall
Investigators are offering a £10,000 reward after constructing DNA profile of killer
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Detectives investigating the murder of a mother-of-two who was stabbed to death while walking her dog in Cornwall have uncovered new evidence.
Linda Bryant, who was known as Lyn, was murdered almost 20 years ago in what police believe was a sexually-motivated attack.
Witnesses saw a man walking away from the scene minutes after the 40-year-old was killed in the village of Ruan High Lanes, near Truro, on 20 October 1998.
No one was ever caught but police have now developed a partial DNA profile for Ms Bryant’s killer.
Officers have taken more than 100 samples from people in the local area and across the UK, and reviewed 6,000 individuals who gave DNA to the original inquiry.
A £10,000 reward has also been offered by independent charity Crimestoppers for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Retired Detective Inspector Stuart Ellis, the senior investigating officer, said the DNA profile was enabled by emerging science and could prove an “extremely significant step”.
“All we need now from the public is a name,” he added. “It could be someone who you have spoken to us about before or maybe someone who has never come into the enquiry.
“Twenty years is a long time and allegiances change. Now is the time to come forward because if we do get a name we can actually do something with it.”
Ms Bryant’s body was found at the entrance to a field along a track between Ruan High Lanes Methodist Chapel and Treviles Manor.
She had been stabbed a number of times her back, neck and chest in what police described as “a prolonged attack”.
Witnesses saw men in the area three times within minutes of the killing but they have never come forward or been identified.
The first was a bearded man driving a “scruffy” white van who was at the same petrol station Ms Bryant visited at 12.45pm on the day of her death.
Police said a similar vehicle had been seen in the area in previous days but neither the man nor the vehicle was known to locals.
Ms Bryant returned home from the petrol station and had lunch with her 19-year-old daughter Erin, watched Emmerdale and then headed out for her regular walk with the family’s dog.
Police said the mother often took the same circular route, which started opposite her home, on the daily walk.
Local residents saw her walking towards Ruan High Lanes Methodist Chapel before a passing motorist “spotted her talking to a clean-shaven man” outside the church between 1.45pm and 2pm.
“The man was in his 30s but had no other distinguishing features,” Mr Ellis said.
“That was probably the last time that Lyn was seen alive by anybody. Despite repeated appeals and high-profile media coverage of this case this man has never come forward, and this is highly unusual.”
A short time later at 2.30pm, her body was found in the field gateway by a woman driving up the lane, who called for help. Ms Bryant was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Ellis said there was “no attempt” to conceal the body, adding: “We know that she must have fought against her attacker – she had injuries to her face and her clothing was disturbed.
“I think it is a fair conclusion to assume this was a sexually-motivated murder.”
Police said the weapon was a single-edged blade, probably a penknife or a small kitchen knife, which has never been found.
Between 2.45pm and 3pm, a local farmer saw a man walking across the field near to the scene.
“This was a very unusual occurrence as this field does not have a footpath and in the farmer’s experience was not used by any walkers,” he added.
“He was wearing normal clothes and shoes which again is very odd.”
Police are investigating whether the men seen by the chapel and walking through the field are the same person.
Vivid blue fibres of a type commonly used in polo shirts and jumpers were found on Ms Bryant’s body and were not matched to anything in her home, meaning they are likely to have been left by her attacker.
He was also likely to have been covered in blood and mud from the struggle.
Ms Bryant’s glasses went missing from her body but reappeared in February 1999, four months after she was murdered, on top of mud in the gateway where she was killed.
Investigators say the area underwent a fingerprint search and Mr Ellis said: “Were they found by somebody and returned to the scene or were they put there by the murderer?”
The fact the killing happened in a particularly remote part of Cornwall has led detectives to believe the culprit has a local connection through friends, family or work, as it is “not an area that you would expect someone to stumble upon”.
The only three suspects ever identified have been eliminated from the investigation, which saw all men and boys aged between 14 and 70 who lived nearby or had passed within a one-mile radius of the scene between 9am and 4pm on the day of the murder investigated.
Mr Ellis added said the murder of Ms Bryant, who had lived in the village her whole life, shocked the local community.
“For her to be taken away from her husband, daughters and 10-month-old first grandchild in such a brutal and horrific way is very sad indeed,” he added.
“This was the murder of an innocent housewife, mum and grandmother, who didn’t deserve to die in such horrendous circumstances. Years have gone by but this has not lessened the pain and rawness of what happened to her that day.
“Her family has suffered for 20 years, living their lives knowing that the offender remains free.”
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use the charity’s non–traceable online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org