‘I KILLED SCOTT’
Woman sensationally admits murder of teen more than 14 years later, during behind-doors bail hearing
A woman has pleaded guilty to murdering a teenager in Sunderland – more than 14 years after he was killed.
Scott Pritchard, 19, was bludgeoned to death outside his Hendon home on January 7, 2004.
Last Thursday, Karen Tunmore, 36, from Towton, Killingworth, was charged with his murder after new information had come to light.
She appeared before magistrates sitting at Newcastle Crown Court on Saturday morning and was remanded in custody.
But on Tuesday during a bail hearing, she dramatically entered a guilty plea to murder.
She will now be sentenced by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court on October 1.
The admission ends a 14-year search for Scott’s killer.
The teenager was found fatally injured outside his home in Lyndsay Close. He was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries but doctors were unable to save him.
The youth, who was on crutches at the time, had been bludgeoned to death.
Despite one of the biggest police hunts in Sunderland’s history, his murder remained unsolved.
Huge resources were ploughed into finding the killer – with investigating officers taking more than 1,300 statements, conducting 115 interviews and collecting 2,141 exhibits.
Extensive inquiries, including a search of Mowbray Park lake, failed to find the murder weapon.
A post-mortem examinationconcluded Scott–who at the time lived with his mum Kathleen, brother Brett and sister Melanie – had died from injuries caused by a blunt instrument.
An investigation was launched to trace the person responsible for the teenager’s murder but nobody was convicted at the time.
In October 2005, his father Robert Frederick Stacey, then 52, was cleared of Scott’s murder at a pretrial hearing at Newcastle Crown Court.
Mr Stacey, the former partner of Scott’s mother Kathleen, was released with a not guilty verdict after the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was no realistic prospect of conviction and offered no evidence against him.
The case has remained open ever since and detectives in Northumbria Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiries Team have periodically reviewed the case.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief inspector John Bent, said: “It is rare for a murder case to remain open for so long because suspects are normally identified at a very early stage.
“I am glad that Scott’s family may finally see some justice as it has been an incredibly difficult time for them since he passed away.
“To have your son murdered is tragic in itself, but for his killer to remain in the community for such a long time is heartbreaking.
“Hopefully they can take some comfort from knowing that Karen Tunmore has been brought to justice.”
Last night Scott’s family did not wish to talk about the latest development after being contacted by the Echo.
Speaking on the ninth anniversary of Scott’s death, in 2013, his mum Kathleen said: “There are people out there who know what happened to Scott, but haven’t spoken up.
“They’re nothing but cowards.”
Kathleen refused to move from the home she shared with her son, despite the tragic memories that haunt her every day.
She said: “I couldn’t move from here.
“I need to live here because I feel closer to him in this place, but one thing is for sure, I won’t rest until I get justice.
“Somebody out there knows what and why this happened.
“Somebody out there has the information that is going to make a difference.”
At the time Det Chief Insp Andy Potts, from Northumbria Police, said: “Unsolved murders are never closed and are all subject to periodic reviews.”
He added: “If any new information comes to light about Scott Pritchard’s death it will be fully investigated.”
“For his killer to remain in the community for such a long time is heartbreaking” DCI JOHN BENT