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Police find DNA link in murders of school pupil and Bunny girl
Justin Davenport, Evening Standard25 Sep 2007
Dramatic links between two notorious unsolved murders dating back more than 30 years were revealed today.
Scotland Yard has uncovered DNA evidence linking the 1975 killing of Playboy Bunny girl model Eve Stratford with the murder of schoolgirl Lynne Weedon six months later.
The extraordinary breakthrough has been made because of advances in DNA technology. An inquiry by a "cold case" review group revealed the link.
Detectives have re-opened both cases and say they are hunting a brutal sex killer who used terrifying violence to commit both murders. They are not ruling out the possibility that he has committed other unsolved killings.
Ms Stratford, 22, a glamour model, was raped and killed in her home in Leyton in March 1975. Detectives believe she may have known her killer and invited him into the flat she shared with her pop singer boyfriend.
Her body was found with a nylon stocking tied around one ankle and a scarf binding her hands behind her back.
The Bunny girl, who worked at the Playboy Club in Park Lane where she had been pictured with Eric Morecambe and Sid James, had her throat cut between eight and 12 times.
Later that year, in September, Miss Weedon was beaten over the head with a blunt object as she took a short-cut to her home in Hounslow. She was then thrown over a fence into the grounds of an electricity sub-station before being raped and left for dead. Despite horrific injuries she was alive when found the next morning but died a week later in hospital without regaining consciousness.
Both cases are to be featured on the BBC Crimewatch programme tomorrow.
Today, Lynne's mother Margaret Weedon, 75, made a plea for help in tracking down the killer.
She said: "Lynne and Eve were two very different young ladies... the actions of this one unknown person were the same for both lots of family and friends - our girls would never bring home friends, new interests, grandchildren.
"You think your memories are buried deep down, but they come back to sit on your shoulder - not a day passes without a thought of Lynne going through my mind, even after all this time. It would be very satisfying to have a final closure to the events of 1975 and to know what happened."
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Mortimer, who is leading the new inquiry, said: "Someone out there has kept a dark secret for more than 30 years and I do not think they have kept this to themselves.
"They will have bragged or confided in a partner or an associate, or someone will have had suspicions."
Detectives have spent months eliminating suspects in the Bunny girl murder, interviewing many figures in the glamour world and those nearest to her, including her boyfriend Tony Priest, the lead singer with pop band Onyx, who found her body.
They also believe the killer has a knowledge of the Hounslow area and knew the alley where Lynne was attacked.
Anyone with information should call 020 7321 7228 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
• Crimewatch is on BBC1 tomorrow at 9pm.
Reader views (2)
When I read this article I was immediately struck by the similarities between Lynne Weeden and Eve when she was 16!!!! Take off the glasses and this could be a photo of Eve
- Rosalie Stephens, Bracknell Berks, 19/12/2008 10:42
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Even after all this time, I would love to see this evil individual face justice.
- Mike, London, UK, 25/09/2007 19:35
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