Foresight that kept the chase alive

MURDERER John Crerar may never have been brought to justice had the winter of 1979 not been so severe.

Former murder squad head John Courtney, who led the original investigation into the killing of Phyllis Murphy, said that because of the cold weather the blood was in perfect condition despite the body lying undiscovered for over a month. He said: “The blood on her body was perfect because it was cold. We started taking blood from suspects and all these samples were kept.”

Detective Sergeant Brendan McArdle, whose initiative brought the murderer to justice, said: “Phyllis’ naked body had lain in the open for 28 days. The fact that we were able to recover any evidence to enable a DNA match was unique.