How small blue car seen in lay-by may be missing clue to solving case of murdered British schoolgirl found in field

IT’S a gruesome cold case that has left cops baffled for nearly three decades.

Kate Bushell, 14, went missing while walking her neighbour’s dog and was later found dead – but her killer has never been caught.

PAKate Bushell was killed in 1997 but her murderer was never found[/caption]

SWNSThe 14-year-old was out walking her neighbour’s dog when she was brutally killed[/caption]

The secondary school student suffered a savage knife wound to her throat on November 15 1997.

Her body was tragically discovered by her father in a field off of Exwick Lane – just 300 yards from her home in Burrator Drive, Exeter.

The schoolgirl’s murder prompted one of the largest and longest-running unsolved murder inquiries by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Despite many high-profile media and public appeals, her killer has never been found.

More than 160 detectives and staff were initially deployed to the case in 1997.

Over 5,000 house-to-house interviews were conducted and a similar number of DNA samples were taken.

Three suspects were then interviewed and released without charge.

Kate, a pupil at St Thomas High School, was last seen alive at 4.50pm by a lay-by towards the Whitestone Cross end of Exwick Lane.

Detectives narrowed down potential leads to the sightings of a blue car and two unidentified men. 

Witnesses remember seeing her with Jack Russell Gemma but also spotted a small blue car parked in the nearby stables lay-by and a man stood by it.

Just five minutes later, a young couple drove the same route and saw the blue car unattended.

However, they did not see Kate or anyone else in the lane.

Despite police working for years on the investigation, neither the car nor the man have ever been identified.

Around 2,000 blue vehicles have been traced and eliminated from the enquiry over the years.

The man is described as white, aged between 30 and 40, of average build and height, clean shaven with dark collar length hair.

Several witnesses say they also saw a man running near the area.

Two people claimed to have seen a man running down the field behind Normans from the direction of the murder scene between 5.10pm and 5.40pm.

Meanwhile, other witnesses said they saw a man running wildly from the corner of the field in the Farm Hill/Cornflower Hill area of Exwick that evening.

The man in the car and the man running have never been traced despite renewed appeals by cops over the years.

Devon and Cornwall PoliceCops at the scene of the murder[/caption]

Murdered schoolgirl Kate Bushell on a dry ski slopePA:Press Association

Devon and Cornwall PoliceExwick Lane in 1997 when Kate was murdered[/caption]

MURDER CLUES

These lines of inquiry remain key to the investigation along with tracing the source of orange fibres found at the scene, police say.

More than 100 orange clothing fibres were found on Kate’s body and one on a nearby country stile.

The orange fibres were from a bright orange azoic-dyed cotton material.

This is predominately used in non-florescent workwear such as boiler suits, aprons and gloves.

In 2017 a new appeal was made to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Kate’s killing.

It generated 204 calls and messages into the incident room, sparking 10 new lines of enquiry.

The actual weapon used to murder the 14-year-old has never been found but a post mortem found she was killed by a blade at least six inches long.

However, cops remain convinced that Kate’s killer has local connections due to the isolated location of the murder.

Detectives are still looking for that vital piece of information to unlock the puzzle which shocked the city nearly 30 years ago.

The field where Kate’s body was found was mainly used as a cut-through to Nadderwater and Whitestone, and was used by local dog walkers.

“The murder location has huge significance because it is not common to anyone from outside of the area,” said Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Rob Back.

“We believe that the killer may have lived locally or had links to friends and family members there.

“Kate’s body was found in a field which leads to Kinnerton Way and she would have gone down a country path and across two stiles to get there.”

Kate’s best friend Nicky Johns previously told The Sun about the horror case.

The pair were “inseparable” and had been best friends from the age of nine.

Nicky last saw Kate on what she described as a “normal Friday at school” where they waved goodbye to each other on the way home.

But she was later told the tragic news that Kate had been murdered just down the road.

She said in 2017: “Hearing the news, I felt completely numb. My brother cried, but I didn’t shed a tear. I just couldn’t believe what had happened.

“The pain was unbearable – it felt I’d lost part of myself.

“I think the hardest thing is knowing this person hasn’t been caught, they’re not paying for what they did.

“I pray somebody can remember something and can come forward with information.”

CollectKate and best pal Nicky Johns would spend most of their time together[/caption]

A poster released by a local newspaper after Kate’s disappearancePA:Press Association

Kate’s family and Devon and Cornwall Police issued a renewed appeal for information on November 14, 2022.

Her brother Tim Bushell, who was almost 16 at the time of her murder, also called on anyone who was still withholding information to look to their conscience and speak out.

He said: “Twenty five years ago my 14-year-old sister Kate was taken from my family and me when she was murdered near our home whilst walking a friend’s dog.

“There isn’t a day that goes past where my family and I don’t think of her, what life would be like if she hadn’t been taken from us, what she would have achieved, and all the family milestones that we have been unable to include her in.”

LINKED CASE

The case Kate’s murder is usually linked to is to the murder of Linda ‘Lyn’ Bryant in Cornwall 11 months later.

The 40-year-old’s death in a field bore many of the same hallmarks as Kate’s. She too was found stabbed in brutal fashion near to her home.

Both cases have been the subject of investigative reviews in recent years with the investigation to find Kate’s killer called Operation Deakin.

The possible links between Kate and Lyn’s murders were noted on Crimewatch in November 1998.

In 2018, detectives working on Lyn’s case said they had isolated a partial DNA profile of her killer that could help solve her brutal murder.

Since then officers have been retaking DNA samples from people across the UK to check them against the partial profile.

But her case, like Kate’s, remains unresolved.

A £20,000 reward was last offered by Crimestoppers for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Kate’s killer.

In its latest update on Kate, Devon and Cornwall Police said they remain committed to finding her killer.

A spokesperson for the force said: “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.”

PALyn Bryant was murdered 11 months after Kate[/caption]

CollectKate with her friend Nicky Johns[/caption]

Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]