Leanne Tiernan | |
|---|---|
 Tiernan, c. 1998 | |
| Born | Leanne Tiernan 27 September 1984 Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 26 November 2000 (aged 16) Bramley, West Yorkshire |
| Cause of death | Strangulation |
| Body discovered | 20 August 2001, Otley, West Yorkshire |
| Resting place | Hill Top Cemetery, Armley, West Yorkshire 53°48′05″N 1°36′51″W / 53.8015°N 1.6143°W (approximate) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Student |
| Known for | Former missing person Victim of murder |
| Parents |
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The murder of Leanne Tiernan was a high-profile English child murder involving a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was abducted less than one mile from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas shopping trip in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and subsequently murdered.[1][2] The missing person inquiry which followed was one of the largest in the history of West Yorkshire Police, involving the search of around 1,750 buildings, underwater searches of thirty-two drainage wells, the draining of a two-mile section of a canal and the halting of household waste collections.[3]
Leanne's body was discovered on 20 August 2001 in dense woodland just 50 yards (46 m) from a busy car park at Lindley Woods near Otley, on the border of North and West Yorkshire.[4][5] Following the discovery of her body, DNA samples were taken from 200 people, including family, friends and known sex offenders living in the area.[3] Forensic evidence led police to her killer, John Taylor, who lived only 1,300 yards (1,200 m) from Tiernan's home. On 8 July 2002 Taylor pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to her kidnap and murder and received two life sentences, with the trial judge telling him that he should expect to spend the rest of his life in prison.[6] At the end of his trial, the police officers who brought him to justice spoke of their belief that he may have been responsible for other unsolved murders, including the 1992 murder of Yvonne Fitt, a Bradford sex worker.[2]
On 3 April 2003, following a police review of unsolved sexual attacks in the area, Taylor pleaded guilty to two separate rapes committed before the schoolgirl's murder and received a further sentence of life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 30 years.[5] As a result of the Tiernan murder inquiry, police re-opened at least ten further cold case murder investigations.[7][8]
- ^ "Murdered Leanne buried". BBC News. 28 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 June 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Leanne killer jailed for life". BBC News. 8 July 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Jane (22 August 2001). "Determined police have wealth of detail from huge hunt". The Yorkshire Post. Leeds. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ "Leanne police in finger-tip search". BBC News. 25 August 2001. Archived from the original on 11 December 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ a b "John Taylor: Killer in the Woods". Crime & Investigation Network. 10 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ "Man admits Leanne murder". BBC News. 15 February 2002. Archived from the original on 18 April 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
denniswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wainwright, Martin (6 February 2003). "Police interrogate sex strangler". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.