Payne murder can provide clues to finding killer
Sarah, three years younger than Robert, was snatched just yards from her grandparents' home in Sussex on July 11, 2000. Some 17 days passed before her badly decomposed body was found, 20 miles away.
Robert was found fully clothed (which should provide forensic samples), while a post mortem showed he had not been sexually assaulted.
While Sarah was found naked, she had no wounds from an assault.
In the days before she was found, police identified a local man, listed on the sex offenders register, as a suspect.
Before Robert's discovery gardaí had already begun to identify possible local suspects, including known sex offenders.
In both cases, there were sightings of vans.
Gardaí are hoping clues clothes fibres, hair samples etc from the scene, and DNA evidence from Robert, will give them a crucial lead.
That was how police cracked Sarah's murder.
Police had arrested Roy Whiting, and seized his van, before her body was found.
The vehicle in which Robert was abducted is the breakthrough gardaí need.
Shortly after Sarah disappeared her brother noticed a white transit van.
Whiting had bought a white Fiat van a week before Sarah's disappearance.
Police removed the contents of his van, including a red sweatshirt, a pair of socks, a checked shirt, a clown-patterned curtain and a petrol receipt showing Whiting had been a few miles from where Sarah's body was found.
The only piece of Sarah's clothing found was a black shoe which had trapped 350 fibres, discovered in a village not far from her body.
Evidence it was Sarah's came from blue fibres found on it that matched her school uniform.
A red sweatshirt was found in Whiting's van.
The garment was taped for fibres and hairs and screened for body fluids, such as blood, semen and saliva. The tapings were examined for blue fibres of the type that Sarah's missing dress was made of.
All the fair hairs from the tapings were prepared for DNA. The collar and the cuffs were also tested. Their profile matched Whiting.
The clown curtain found in the front seat of the van, was examined. A single multi-coloured fibre on the shoe was found to match the clown curtain.
Two balls of Sarah's hair were retrieved from the burial site.
A number of fibres were retrieved from them and from the body bag.
From one of them, fibres were found matching the red sweatshirt and a pair of Whiting's socks.
In the second clump there were fibres matching the sweatshirt, socks and one fibre from the passenger seat of the van. One sock fibre and one from the driver's seat of the van were also found in the body bag.
In December 2001, Whiting was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the judge recommending he never be released.
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