Mystery could now be solved

My wife and I listened intently to the Palace of Laughter on Radio 4 Extra on Tuesday, June 19, as it was based on The Sunderland Empire.

I had a particular interest as there was mention of ghostly noises in certain parts of this old theatre which staff avoided at certain hours. The manager said that this was because of Molly, but with no explanation of who she was.

On January 14, 1949, Molly Mozelle, who was the 33 year old assistant stage manager for the Ivor Novello production of The Dancing Years, walked out of her digs in Eden Street, Sunderland and was never seen again. Her real name was Mary Burslem and she was my aunty. .

In 1991, Granada Television made a series of programmes about true crime mysteries and this included the story of Molly Mozelle.

In 1987 the doorman, Fred Green, had worked in the Empire since 1931 and was one of the last people to see Molly alive.

He was interviewed by the Sunderland Echo in 1987 and he said that will never forget Molly.

The final chapter in the police file on Molly covers the detailed investigation of a badly decomposed torso found in the Wear on October 12, 1960.

But in those days DNA knowledge was unknown and the unidentified remains were laid to rest.

However, could DNA be used now – if so, they could check with mine?

Perhaps now it will be possible to solve the mystery which puzzled detectives so many years ago.