Sunday 20 October 2013

The Unsolved Murder of Brenda Evans

Another unsolved Chester murder was that of 17 years old Brenda Evans on October 7th 1977, in the village of Poulton, south of Chester.  Brenda, of Yew Tree Cottage, Poulton, worked at the village Post Office & General Store, and what was customary for her, was during her lunch break, she would walk to her aunt and uncles` house, for a bite to eat, then return to work.  On this particular day, she bade farewell to her relatives to return to the Post Office.  She never made it.  Her boss, Sam Roberts, was surprised that she had not returned, and later, her mother popped into the Post Office.  Mr Roberts told her of Brenda`s absence, which surprised her and she immediately became concerned.

    Mrs Evans organised a search party with relatives and friends.  Later, the mother of Brenda`s boyfriend, John Pritchard, discovered her body in a wooded area.  Edith Pritchard found her body, dumped down a 12 foot manhole.  She had been strangled with her own tights.  John Pritchard, a farm worker, was working just over a quarter of a mile away, cutting hedges.  This prompted Police to question him intensively, which they did for 27 hours.  He was not released from Police bail for four weeks, but the investigation ground to a halt.  The case gets the standard periodical review and with the advances in DNA and forensic technology, Police hope that something may surface.  As with the hundreds of unsolved murders, maybe one day the guilty will be caught.  Let us hope so.

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