37-year murder mystery of teenage girl solved after dying librarian leaves confession note and murder weapon

But after his death it emerged that the retired librarian had been harbouring a secret which could help crack a murder unsolved for 38 years.

Police are investigating claims that the 77-year-old was the killer of Lorraine Jacob, a 19-year-old mother of two, after decorators found a detailed confession while renovating Richardson's terrace home.

Alongside the nine-page note was a folder of press cuttings relating to her murder in 1970, as well as a Second World War gun and an item of clothing. They are all being examined by forensic and handwriting experts.

Miss Jacob's body was found dumped in an alleyway in Liverpool city centre. The unmarried mother, who had a baby son and daughter, had been battered and strangled.

Despite repeated appeals and an extensive investigation, police failed to find her killer.

At the time Richardson, described by police as "well-educated, but secretive and reclusive", lived in the nearby district of Toxteth, where he worked in a restaurant.

The pensioner, who never married, had a passion for languages and studied for a German degree as a mature student between 1972 and 1975.

Scroll down for more...

He taught himself Russian and loved reading. His home was crammed with hundreds of books, mainly on German and Nazi history and literature.

Richardson, who worked as a librarian in Manchester in the 1980s, had cancer when he died in a hospice on February 10.

The confession was found in a leather satchel on top of a wardrobe at Richardson's home, in Aspull, Wigan, where he lived for the last 14 years, by decorators.

Detective Superintendent Ian Kemble said: "The confession isn't dated and it's not signed. But it is very detailed and has given us clear lines of investigation-We won't know until we have expert evidence if he definitely wrote it. It would appear to be quite old with yellow staining."

Mr Kemble said that among the findings was a press cutting about the unsolved murder of hitch-hiker Jackie Ansell-Lamb, 18, whose body was discovered in Mere, Cheshire, in 1970.

But he said there was no evidence linking Richardson to her murder or that of Barbara Mayo, a teacher killed hitch-hiking in Derbyshire the same year. DNA evidence shows both women were killed by the same man.

Mr Kemble released a picture of Richardson aged 36, taken four years before the murder, and appealed for information from past colleagues or friends.

Jacob family solicitor Robin Makin said: "This is a jigsaw puzzle that needs solving.

"There are enough pieces now to make the picture. The family have wanted to find out what happened for a very, very long time."

Richardson's only daughter Edith said of her father: "He was polite and a quiet sort of person. But if you got him talking on the subjects he loved, like languages or history, he would chat for hours."

A friend added: "Harvey was the perfect neighbour. He was a bit of a loner and rarely had visitors. I couldn't believe it when the story came out linking him to murder."