New clue in hunt for Nicola’s killer
A FORMER detective who helped expose the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal says new evidence could help solve the mystery of a teenage mother who went missing nearly 30 years ago.
Mark Williams-thomas says he has identified a “crucial witness” in the case of Nicola Payne, and said: “I’m going after her killers.”
Mr Williams-thomas will soon start production on a documentary about the suspected murder of Nicola Payne that will reveal new evidence.
The 18-year-old Coventry mother of a six-month-old boy was last seen in December 1991 walking home from her boyfriend’s house at Henley Green. Her body has not been found.
In a clip from the planned programme played at the annual Police Federation Detectives Forum, the investigator said: “I am convinced the clues to Nicola Payne’s abduction and murder lay in the community.
“After seeing confidential information, documents and evidence, I am going after Nicola Payne’s killers.”
In 2015 two men went on trial accused of abducting and killing Nicola but were cleared by a jury. The judge was critical of police failings.
Mr Williams-thomas said he had identified a new “crucial witness” who saw a car at around the time of Nicola Payne’s disappearance, who had not been in the “police system”.
He said: “We will put all the information into the public domain which is significant and other bits of information to try to get people to finally come forward.”
He said there was a £100,000 reward available for information. Detectives at the event in Birmingham also heard Mr Williams-thomas say he is focused on locating the bodies of a number of missing people, including Lee Boxell, 15, who went missing in 1988.
The detective was behind an ITV documentary that first brought allegations against serial paedophile Savile to light.