Stephen: The case is closed
After mother’s heartfelt appeal, Met finally shelves inquiry and says it has no more leads
THE investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence will now be shelved unless new leads are found, police confirmed last night.
Scotland Yard said detectives have nothing left to pursue unless handed fresh information about the 1993 case.
They said every possible line of inquiry has been run down and without advances in forensic techniques its work will be placed on hold.
But Chris Le Pere, who leads the inquiry, said he remains hopeful that publicity around the 25th anniversary could yet throw up clues.
A three-part documentary, Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation, examining the murder, the botched first investigation and the repercussions for British policing, will be broadcast on BBC1 next week.
Last night Mr Le Pere said: ‘We understand that 25 years is a poignant anniversary of the tragedy of the murder of Stephen, and our thoughts remain very much with those who loved him, and feel his loss.
‘With the approaching anniversary and airing of a documentary, there is still the opportunity for someone who knows what happened that night to have a conscience and come forward. I would say to you, it is never too late to do the right thing.’
Last week the Daily Mail revealed Stephen’s mother Doreen had suggested the inquiry had run its course. Baroness Lawrence said police should shelve the investigation if they have no more significant leads.
She urged officers to be ‘honest’ about the probe, saying she was conscious it was funded by taxpayers.
Steven’s father Neville said he still hoped someone would come forward. ‘The threat of anything happening to them now isn’t as great as it was in the early days. I’m pleased that they [the police] tried all different options and are still trying after all these years.’
Stephen was stabbed by white thugs at a bus stop in Eltham, South-East London, on April 22, 1993. He was 18. Two of the student’s killers were jailed in 2012, but three others have dodged justice.
Gary Dobson, now 42, and David Norris, 41, were convicted and jailed for life in 2012 when DNA and fibre evidence linked them to the murder. The third suspect, 42-year-old Neil Acourt, is behind bars for masterminding a £4million cannabis smuggling ring. His brother Jamie, 41, who is wanted for his links to drugs crime, is believed be on the run in Spain. The only suspect on British streets is 41-year-old Luke Knight.
In February 1997, after an inquest delivered a verdict of unlawful killing, this newspaper named the five men on its front page with the headline: ‘Murderers.’
Two years later, an inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson accused the Metropolitan Police of institutional racism, professional incompetence and bad leadership.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed the force is ‘reviewing the status’ of the investigation into Stephen’s killers.
He said: ‘Despite previous public appeals, rigorous pursuit of all remaining lines of inquiry, numerous reviews and every possible advance in forensic techniques, the Met investigation team is now at a stage where without new information the investigation is unlikely to progress further, and this was explained to the family earlier this year.’
The decision is sensitive for Met Commissioner Cressida Dick who has vowed to fight to bring Stephen’s killers to justice ‘as long as I am alive’.
In previous roles she spent 13 years as the most senior detective responsible for the murder investigation.