UK UK - Kate Bushell, 14, Exeter, Devon, 15 Nov 1997

[Hustling01]

tey didn't rule out a sexul motive as her clothes were disturbed. thats all there is on the motive though.police think there is a high chance the same killer murdered someone else as well.

"Bushell, was found with her throat cut 300 yards (270 metres) from her home. Bryant was stabbed a number of times, her killer had apparently returned to the scene four months later to place her missing glasses back at the site. The apparently motiveless killings, as well as their particularly brutal nature and apparent links, led to fears that a serial killer was at large in the south-west at the time."

Lead detective Chris Boarland concluded: "This was a planned murder. It was not about Lynda Bryant. This is somebody who was looking for somebody in an isolated location." both the Bushell and Bryant cases it was ultimately concluded that the motive was sexual, even though neither of the victims had been sexually assaulted." In both cases this was because of the way their clothes had been disturbed by her killer.

Murders of Kate Bushell and Lyn Bryant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

i could never understand a murder motive cos im not one but im guessing its a sense of power and control

 

[Hustling01]

Are there any known suspects?

 

[Sweeper2000]

Are there any known suspects?

three 3unidentified people. 1. blue car man. 2. mans seen running from the scene towards exwick housing estate. 3. a vagrant seen in the area before the murder and not seen after. the last sighting of him was three days before the murder.

 

[dotr]

2023 rbbm.

Detectives share info with police investigating Exeter killing

The murders of Kate Bushell in Exeter in 1997 and Lyn Bryant in Cornwall in 1998 have never officially been linked but detectives remain in contact as new DNA advances bring fresh hope

www.devonlive.com

''Launching a new appeal for information into the death of Lyn Bryant DCI James Dowler, from Devon and Cornwall Police's Major Crime Team, said information has been shared with the team working on the murder of Kate Bushell. He said a partial DNA profile has been obtained as a result of technological advance and the force working with external providers and experts.''

''Witnesses remember seeing her and the dog but also spotting a small blue car parked in the nearby stables layby with a man stood by it.
He was described as white, aged between 30 and 40, of average build and height, clean shaven with dark collar length hair. Several witnesses also reported seeing a ‘running man’ in the Farm Hill/Cornflower Hill area of Exwick that evening. This man has never been traced.''

2022

Kate Bushell: Family's plea to solve 25-year-old murder case

Schoolgirl Kate Bushell was killed in 1997 as she walked her neighbour's dog in Exwick.

www.bbc.com

''More than 160 detectives and staff were initially deployed to the case in 1997, with more than 5,000 house-to-house interviews conducted and more than 5,000 DNA samples taken from individuals in the Exwick and Exeter area.
Three suspects have been interviewed and released without charge.''

 

[Sweeper2000]

Of all cold cases in the UK this is one I would be overjoyed to see resolved. Some questions though, so they took 5000 dna profiles but nowhere have I read that they got a dna sample from the perp unless I'm wrong?

 

[Knitty]

MOD NOTE:

This post lands at random. AI/chatbot posts have been removed. At this time, Websleuths does not allow artificial intelligence as a source due to inaccuracies we have become aware of in other cases.

 

[mrC]

i think i hae a very good suspect i dont know weather he has been mentioned i will post a link in a minute

 

[mrC]

here he is i dont know weather hes been mentioned before aperantly he hated dog walkers Peter Wrighton murder: Ex-soldier jailed for 28 years

 

[elframo]

here he is i dont know weather hes been mentioned before aperantly he hated dog walkers Peter Wrighton murder: Ex-soldier jailed for 28 years

The man in question would have been 3 when Kate was murdered.

 

[mrC]

oh yes so he would back to the drawing board

 

[mrC]

what about this man here this who i ment to post Man guilty of murdering Anita Rose in Brantham as she walked dog

 

[Notascreenname]

what about this man here this who i ment to post Man guilty of murdering Anita Rose in Brantham as she walked dog

I feel you're just picking out random names now without any foundation.

 

[mrC]

he was living in a makeshift camp one of the witnesses reported a similar camp in the Bushnell case the woman he kiled was walking a dog just like Katie

 

[Sweeper2000]

and lyn bryant. noticeable differences in mode of attack though notably the use of a knife in kate's and lyn's. he is of the correct age though or thereabout with the attacker thought to be in his sixties or seventies or thereabouts. this article also matches the description of the vagrants camp near exwick. How was wanted man Roy Barclay free to kill Anita Rose?
the killer of anita rose is also known to have had6 committed violent attacks on elderly people as well in the past and whats not to say he did it when he was younger? in the kb and lb wiki page there is also a potential link tot he killing of helen fleet who was 66 at the time of her death and was also walking her dogs.

would like to point out that roy barclay in two of his attack on elderly dog walkers he attached the dogs leash to the legs of his victims, suggesting care for te animal. in all four attacks the dogs were never harmed. i might also point out that barclay is known to have frequently travelled in rural areas and was someone known to have uploaded pics to google reviews of places he had travelled in. this fits with exwick which is a rural and little known place.the police also think roy is a person who can act violently in a unprovoked manner. How was wanted man Roy Barclay free to kill Anita Rose?

i would very much like to know if on his travels roy barclay had ever visited devon, its perfectly possible he did.

ETA, he would have been 18 at the time of helen fleets death and the people the police wanted to speak to in regards to her death were mostly youths, it fits, LB'S AND KB'S suspects were all thought to be in their thirties or thereabouts in descriptions of the suspects. notice that all of barclays victims were elderly and thus not able to defend themselves, the same as sweet kate a fourteen year old girl, helen fleet was 66 but lyn bryant was 41 and was thought to have fought with her attacker.

 

[Sweeper2000]

i thought it worth sending devon and cornwall police a tip so have done. if i get a reply i will update on here.

 

[tes1984]

i thought it worth sending devon and cornwall police a tip so have done. if i get a reply i will update on here.

Good work. They should already have his DNA on file, but you never know.

It's best to submit tips to multiple forces where possible. Forward the tip to the other forces where he committed serious crimes as well.

 

[Sweeper2000]

Good work. They should already have his DNA on file, but you never know.

It's best to submit tips to multiple forces where possible. Forward the tip to the other forces where he committed serious crimes as well.

i cant make out what happened with the dna on kates murder though? as far as i know there was no dna found at the scene which makes me wonder why they took the 5000 samples? i will tip the other forces though, thanks for the advice.

 

[tes1984]

i cant make out what happened with the dna on kates murder though? as far as i know there was no dna found at the scene which makes me wonder why they took the 5000 samples?

They wouldn't have done the mass testing if they hadn't found DNA at the crime scene.

 

[Sweeper2000]

They wouldn't have done the mass testing if they hadn't found DNA at the crime scene.

im going to file a FOI to devon and c police and try and really get all info on any DNA found at all. we will see what they say.

 

[tes1984]

im going to file a FOI to devon and c police and try and really get all info on any DNA found at all. we will see what they say.

No point. It's an active murder case and they won't just share that sort of thing upon request.