UK London - Christine McGovern, 47, Walthamstow, between June 21 and 22 1995

[jojojaja]

Chilling murder of woman strangled to death in her bath unsolved 27 years later

Christine McGovern was found naked by her friend inside her flat in Walthamstow

www.mylondon.news

Chilling murder of a Walthamstow woman strangled to death in her bath remains unsolved 27 years later​

Christine McGovern was found naked by her friend inside her flat in Walthamstow


Sadly not every murder investigation ends with the killer being found and prosecuted for their crimes, even with modern DNA technology and other policing advances. One such case which has remained unsolved for 26 years now is the killing of Christine McGovern.

The 47-year-old sex-worker was found naked and strangled to death by a friend in her flat on Hamilton Road, Walthamstow on June 25, 1995. Just shy of 27 years later, her killer has never been found.

With no signs of forced entry to her flat, and Christine owning a Rottweiler dog, it is thought whoever killed her was known to her. She was last seen alive at about 6.30pm on June 21, 1995 in Hamilton Road, outside her house and her dog was later heard barking at about 11pm by neighbours.

When Christine was found dead in her bath the next day by a friend at about midday, she had suffered a number of injuries. Her spine had been broken and she had a broken nose and severe bruising, her cause of death though, discovered in the post-mortem was asphyxiation.

In 2011 there was a renewed appeal for information by police, 16 years on from Christine's death. At the time, then Detective Inspector Ken Hughes, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: "We are appealing for anyone who didn't originally come forward to contact us. Circumstances change over the years and it may be someone now feels they can approach us in confidence and anonymously if they wish.

"Even if you just have a hunch or had suspicions about someone at the time we would like to hear from you. We can quickly eliminate people from the enquiry from the evidence we have recovered from the scene but a piece of information you may think is useless could be crucial."

 

[jojojaja]

Anthony Hardy - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Antony Hardy
born Anthony John Hardy in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England 31 May 1951.
Died 25 November 2020, age 69. HM Prison Frankland, County Durham, England.

English serial killer aka the Camden Ripper. Known to dismember some of his victims. Also had convictions for theft, being drunk and disorderly, criminal damage, probably for assault too, unless they let that drop.
Victims 3-8+
Was given three life terms for three murders in November 2003.
Police feel he could have killed 6 more.
Various psychiatric disorders including bipolar, depression, drug induced psychosis, alcohol abuse/alcoholism so he frequently had treatment at London psychiatric hospitals. Also diabetic.

"A November 2003 article written for The Evening Standard by Hugh Dougherty and Finian Davern suggested that Hardy was a -obsessed necrophile who derived sexual gratification from posing and photographing his victims’ nude corpses, and a BBC News article from the same month suggested that this photography was his primary motivation for the murders."

His start in life looked very promising, getting a degree in engineering, managing a large company, getting married with 4 children, living in Tanzania...until he tried to drown his wife.

 

[jojojaja]

What it was like living next door to the notorious Camden Ripper

'I had quite a few arguments with him, of course that was before anyone knew he was killing people at the time,' said one

www.mylondon.news

"In the late 1990s and early 2000s, devil worshipper Hardy, who idolised Jack the Ripper, scoured the streets of North London looking for sex workers"

 

[dotr]

Posted this thread on the International forum for greater visibility..

D

Post in thread 'United Kingdom Crime Cases - Links to cases on Websleuths *No Discussion* #2'

Mar 21, 2025

• dotr

• 

Chilling murder of woman strangled to death in her bath unsolved 27 years later

Christine McGovern was found naked by her friend inside her flat in Walthamstow

www.mylondon.news

Christine's flat was on Hamilton Road, Walthamstow (Image: Google)
''When Christine was found dead in her bath the next day by a friend at about midday, she had suffered a number of injuries. Her spine had been broken and she had a broken nose and severe bruising, her cause of death though, discovered in the post-mortem was asphyxiation.''

 

[jojojaja]

As this is my first thread and I was concerned about formatting etc, too nervous to have done one before, I was following instructions from a post on what to write in the thread title, it didn't say anything about putting a short description of crime/death, so I left it out. I don't think there is a way to edit it in either.

 

[dotr]

As this is my first thread and I was concerned about formatting etc, too nervous to have done one before, I was following instructions from a post on what to write in the thread title, it didn't say anything about putting a short description of crime/death, so I left it out. I don't think there is a way to edit it in either.

You did a great job, much better than any of my earlier started threads!

 

[jojojaja]

You did a great job, much better than any of my earlier started threads!

Thanks. Praise indeed, I always admire your threads and posts, how you format and think things through. You are a go the extra mile kind of person.

 

[sportstergirl]

David Smith was working as a taxi driver until 1998. He's like something from Stephen King's nightmares! A 6' 18 stone multiple 3EX offender, r*pist with a fetish for surgical procedures & killer of 2 3EX workers & suspect in several more..
Smith had previously worked as a lorry driver & is a POI in the unsolved East Lancashire & Midlands Ripper murders.
Never knew abut this case. People forget 3EX workers are wives, girlfriends, mothers daughters cousins & aunts. They leave loved ones behind too

 

[jojojaja]

David Smith was working as a taxi driver until 1998. He's like something from Stephen King's nightmares! A 6' 18 stone multiple 3EX offender, r*pist with a fetish for surgical procedures & killer of 2 3EX workers & suspect in several more..
Smith had previously worked as a lorry driver & is a POI in the unsolved East Lancashire & Midlands Ripper murders.
Never knew abut this case. People forget 3EX workers are wives, girlfriends, mothers daughters cousins & aunts. They leave loved ones behind too

I often see reminders about another local to this lady, cold case, who was a teacher and church goer. I feel poor Christine is almost always forgotten and overlooked so wanted to make sure she had a thread on here, even if few people visit it. Thank you, though I didn't know her, for being one of those who felt like I did. I get so annoyed about sex workers being overlooked, it's not as bad as it was, however I still see little comments and words added that shouldn't be and that differentiate who people think have more right to live or die.

I'll look into David Smith.
Mobile, travelling killers are more unpredictable where they'll strike.
It wouldn't be hard to find sex workers if they left cards in phone boxes.

It's another one of those, oh it must be someone she knew, cases. Forgetting there are other reasons how someone can get in without breaking in.

Dog didn't start barking until 11pm so guessing that's when he killed her.

 

[dotr]

• 25/05/2023 rbbm

UK man convicted of murder 3 decades after acquittal

DPALondon A killer in England who boasted he had “got away with it” after being cleared of murdering an escort 30 years ago has finally been found guilty of the crime.Lorry...

www.qatar-tribune.com

''A killer in England who boasted he had “got away with it” after being cleared of murdering an escort 30 years ago has finally been found guilty of the crime.

Lorry driver David Smith, 67, went on to commit an almost identical murder of another sex worker, Amanda Walker, 21, in 1999 after he was acquitted of killing Sarah Crump, 33, in 1993.

Both women were mutilated by Smith, who was known to colleagues as the “Honey Monster” or “Lurch” because of his height and heavy build.''

''Prosecutor William Boyce KC told a jury how Crump’s murder in the early hours of August 29 1991 was part of his “escalating pattern of violent and sexual offending against women” dating back to his teenage years in the 1970s.''

Chilling murder of woman strangled to death in her bath unsolved 27 years later

Christine McGovern was found naked by her friend inside her flat in Walthamstow

www.mylondon.news

June 2022
''With no signs of forced entry to her flat, and Christine owning a Rottweiler dog, it is thought whoever killed her was known to her. She was last seen alive at about 6.30pm on June 21, 1995 in Hamilton Road, outside her house and her dog was later heard barking at about 11pm by neighbours.''

 

[jojojaja]

• 25/05/2023 rbbm

UK man convicted of murder 3 decades after acquittal

DPALondon A killer in England who boasted he had “got away with it” after being cleared of murdering an escort 30 years ago has finally been found guilty of the crime.Lorry...

www.qatar-tribune.com

''A killer in England who boasted he had “got away with it” after being cleared of murdering an escort 30 years ago has finally been found guilty of the crime.

Lorry driver David Smith, 67, went on to commit an almost identical murder of another sex worker, Amanda Walker, 21, in 1999 after he was acquitted of killing Sarah Crump, 33, in 1993.

Both women were mutilated by Smith, who was known to colleagues as the “Honey Monster” or “Lurch” because of his height and heavy build.''

''Prosecutor William Boyce KC told a jury how Crump’s murder in the early hours of August 29 1991 was part of his “escalating pattern of violent and sexual offending against women” dating back to his teenage years in the 1970s.''

Chilling murder of woman strangled to death in her bath unsolved 27 years later

Christine McGovern was found naked by her friend inside her flat in Walthamstow

www.mylondon.news

June 2022
''With no signs of forced entry to her flat, and Christine owning a Rottweiler dog, it is thought whoever killed her was known to her. She was last seen alive at about 6.30pm on June 21, 1995 in Hamilton Road, outside her house and her dog was later heard barking at about 11pm by neighbours.''

If her dog barked at every 'John', maybe it wouldn't be helpful for business. Sadly there is nobody to ask about how her dog normally responded when people came around.

In Lynne Weedon's case there was a guard dog, alsatian who didn't bark once when she was attacked and left overnight dying.

 

[jojojaja]

I don't know if it's because of the date, more modern press are less represented in historic online newspaper archives/subscription sites, but I found nothing about Christine, BNA at least.

 

[jojojaja]

Murdered sex workers in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[tes1984]

I don't know if it's because of the date, more modern press are less represented in historic online newspaper archives/subscription sites, but I found nothing about Christine, BNA at least.

Unfortunately the newspaper archives are incomplete, as a lot of local and national papers still haven't been digitised.