Scientific advances could yet hold the clue to Devon's biggest unsolved murder case - the savage killing of Exeter schoolgirl Kate Bushell. Detectives are still looking for that vital piece of information to unlock the deadly puzzle which shocked the city 27 years ago. This year marks another Christmas when the murder of the 14-year-old remains unsolved.
She was brutally killed with a knife on Saturday, November 15, 1997, as she walked a neighbour's dog along a path not far from her home in Exwick. Despite a massive police investigation, involving thousands of house-to-house enquiries and DNA samples taken, her killer's identity is unknown and the murder continues to be one of the longest unsolved homicide cases in Devon and Cornwall Police history. But there remains a belief that one clue could break the case.
And that might yet come from advances in DNA profiling. Devon and Cornwall Police's latest update on the investigation says they remain committed to finding her killer. It says: “The investigation into the murder of Kate Bushell remains open and any information received will be assessed and investigated accordingly.
We continue to work on any intelligence that is reported to us and we are thankful for the information provided to us as a result of previous anniversary appeals. "We remain convinced that somebody knows or suspects who is responsible for Kate’s death." There is no shortage of theories spread online about who murdered Kate.
She was found with her throat.
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