LOVED ONES LOST

Coventry teenager Nicola Payne left her seven-month-old son at her boyfriend's home when she took a 10-minute walk to her parents’ house in December 1991. She never arrived. The police believe she was murdered. But her body has never been found. It’s one of Britain’s biggest unsolved murder cases and has baffled detectives for nearly three decades. At CrimeCon September 2021 representatives from the Payne family Amanda Eales to shared their families story.

#findnicolapayne

Suzy Lamplugh was abducted and murdered in 1986, her remains have not been found. At CrimeCon September 2021 her brother, Richard Lamplugh, and Criminologist Dr Cheryl Allsop discussed the lessons for today about solving historic cold cases.

Inside Justice is a charity which investigates miscarriages of justice and provides access to free legal and forensic advice. At CrimeCon September 2021 they delved into a major case they were currently working on and were joined by Charlotte Reece whose father had been wrongly convicted.

On 9 February 1988, Marie McCourt’s 22-year-old daughter Helen disappeared. Overwhelming forensic evidence resulted in local pub landlord Ian Simms being charged with her murder but he has never disclosed the whereabouts of Helen's body. Marie has spent the last three decades both searching for her daughter’s remains and campaigning for families of missing murder victims resulting in 'Helen's Law' being added to the statute book. Mare has been involved in two CrimeCons so far and is a big supporter of the event and how it can help families.

September the 4th 2017 Corey Junior Davis, known as CJ  started the day as any other boy, but that day would be his last. He was 14 years old. He was in a playground in Newham in London when a blacked-out stolen Range Rover pulled over, a male got out and shot him in the head at point blank range with a shot gun in broad daylight. The case is still unsolved and his murderers are yet to be brought to justice. At CrimeCon CJ’s mother Keisha McLeod attended to share the story. 

Jayden Parkinson was a vibrant 17-year-old girl with her life in front of her. Jayden was a victim of domestic abuse. Her killer, Ben Blakeley controlled and terrorised her. When she told him she was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby, he viciously strangled her. On that fateful day, her mother, Sam Shrewsbury says she lost part of herself. Sam and Dr Keri Nixon explored the journey from Jayden’s abuse and subsequent murder to the path of recovery for Sam.

What drives someone to kill a stranger? What does it mean to take the innocent life of someone you’ve never met? This panel included Chandy and Oceanna Daniel, whose son and brother, Tashan was killed at the age of 20 after a chance encounter on a tube platform, on his way to a football match.

Millions of Brits go abroad every year and sadly some never return. In the Glasgow event, David Swindle looked at the cases of Kirsty Maxwell and Craig Mallon, highlighting the lack of Government support for their families and the need for change to ensure they get justice for their lost loved ones, this session was joined by the Maxwell family.