OUR CRIME MYSTERIES CONTINUE WITH THE It was a mindless, ruthless attack which ripped the girl’s throat... BRITAIN’S UN SOLVED CRIMES

IT was, without doubt, the worst moment of Jerry Bushell’s life.

His daughter Kate had taken the neighbour’s dog, a terrier called Gemma, out for a walk on November 15, 1997. She left the house at around a quarter to five.

When the schoolgirl failed to return home, Jerry and his wife Suzanne went to look for her.

It was Jerry who made the discovery that would haunt the Bushell family for the rest of their lives.

The retired local government officer found his daughter’s body, with the dog waiting nearby, at 7.30pm.

One policeman on the inquiry team said: “It was a mindless, ruthless attack, which ripped the girl’s throat.”

The injury was described by Senior Investigating Officer Paul Burgan as “the worst I’d ever seen in 30 years of policing”.

What it did to Jerry we can only imagine.

Her lower clothes had been interfered with, but she had not been raped or otherwise sexually assaulted.

The killer has never been found. A motive has not been discovered.

And despite an appeal in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of Kate’s brutal murder – an appeal that generated no fewer than ten leads – the mystery remains unsolved.

Kate Bushell had her throat cut during an attack in a field just 300 yards from the safety of her home in Exeter, Devon.

In the 20th anniversary year of the savage slaying, a team of serving and retired detectives and staff, some of whom worked on the original inquiry, began re-examining key evidence because they are convinced the killer had local knowledge and a connection to the Exwick area.

On the anniversary, police made a public appeal, releasing pictures of the type of kitchen knife used in the murder and revealing a forensic breakthrough.

The appeal asked the public to help HUNTING FOR CLUES: Police search lake identify a man seen with a blue car in a layby in Exwick Lane at the time of the murder, and another unknown man seen running frantically down a field from the direction of where Kate was found.

Also revealed was the presence of orange fibres from non-florescent workwear found on Kate’s body and a country stile nearby.

Officers received 204 calls and messages identifying 10 new significant lines of inquiry, including the names of potential suspects.

Over a four-month period, detectives examined the public messages in detail and reviewed up to 5,000 documents, including an in-depth look at 30 original witness statements.

From the 10 new leads, a number of individuals named by the public have been reviewed but eliminated from the inquiry.

Retired detective superintendent Burgan, who is leading the inquiry, said: “We really thank the public for the tremendous response to the 20th anniversary appeal, which totally surpassed our expectations.

“Unfortunately, despite the volume of calls, that one vital piece of information still eludes us and sadly we still do not know who is responsible for Kate’s death.

“The active phase of the operation has ceased and all current inquiries