Murder victim’s family join with charity to offer £10,000 reward

THE FAMILY of a Sheffield murder victim has joined forces with Crimestoppers to offer a £10,000 reward to help detectives crack the case and bring loved ones much-needed answers after more than 20 years.

Patricia Grainger, a mother of one, was 25 when she was repeatedly stabbed, sexually assaulted and strangled. Her body, found by two teenagers, had been dumped under a discarded bed base alongside a brook running close to her Buchanan Road home in Parson Cross in August 1997.

Detectives have previously said they believe the key to solving the long-running investigation lies within the community.

Now her family is offering £5,000, which the crimefighting charity is matching, in a bid to tempt people who may hold crucial information about her murder to come forward at last.

The new reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the murder.

Gemma Gibbs, from Crimestoppers, said: “The account of what happened to Patricia is truly horrendous. Whilst many years have passed, her son and family deserve some closure, to see justice done and to have some answers.

“We know that some people are often too scared to speak directly to the police for fear of revenge, or maybe loyalties have changed over the past two decades.”

Ms Grainger’s son, Danny, has expressed disappointment in the past over the police probe into his mother’s death and lodged official complaints with police chiefs and what was the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

A complaint was made in 2014 after he discovered the bed base and the clothing his mother was wearing on the night of the murder had been discarded by South Yorkshire Police. He said at the time that forensic technology could have been the key to solving the case in the future and he would have liked the items retained to be screened again for the killer’s DNA as forensic technology improved.

Police chiefs stressed at the time that the items had been thoroughly examined before they were thrown away.

Patricia Grainger’s son, Danny, speaking about the crime.

That year, Mr Grainger was also critical of the force when bosses axed its cold case review team to cut costs. The move was reversed two years later when the specialist team was revived and set about reviewing a series of high-profiled unsolved cases.

Making a personal plea yesterday, Mr Grainger said: “My vulnerable mum was treated in the most sickening way possible, used and abused as if she wasn’t human. She had learning disabilities and that made her trusting of anyone who showed her interest. They abused that trust.

“Someone out there knows what happened to Pat. No more secrets. No one should be able to get away with such a terrible crime on an innocent young mum. Please do the right thing and if you know something, contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously.”

Ms Gibbs added: “It could be that you’ve had suspicions, but it was too close to home. Or that you know who was responsible, but have stayed silent until now.

“This is why our charity is here to help. We believe in safe communities and have been taking information about crime anonymously since we began over 32 years ago.

“Even if you think your information is insignificant, it could make all the difference.”

My vulnerable mum was treated in the most sickening way.