The Murder of Leanne Tiernan

A kidnap confession

• Lindley woods
• Prosecution: rape and murder
• "I have no idea."

The Killer in the Woods: The Murder of Leanne Tiernan

Interview/Confession

Subsequent Convictions for Rape

• the garden graveyard
• Forensic pollen analyst
• FSS examination of the twine
• "one-off" batch sold to public as rabbit catch nets
• Cable ties; 99% sold to Royal Mail
• Taylor's employer was a subsidiary
• Red nylon fibers
• blood splatter
• 3 large chest freezers on property

Examination: Homicide

2 unsolved sex attacks where forensic evidence was still available for DNA extraction.

• "re-arrested" in October 2002 and charged with rapes

Post-mortem examination

• Body had been kept refrigerated; trophy?
• Cryobiology expert- microstructure of cardiac tissue

Investigators hopeful that forensic evidence would lead to a suspect

• Fingerprint search covering 20,000 sq. metres
• 400 items used to compare DNA samples

"It's not known how long the body had been in the position where it was found but the initial examination by the pathologist suggested that she had not been there since November."-Det. Gregg

Forensic Home

Investigation

Suspects

Upon Police inquiries:

Investigators reach out to public for information

• John Taylor - frequent poacher in Lindley woods; added to list of suspects.

-First time dog DNA used in a British criminal case

- Dog collar made in Nottingham; reported selling to Taylor

- Knitted scarf contained human hair

• Forensic Science Service (FSS)
• mitochondrial DNA matched Taylor

Works Cited

Girlfriend 1: Taylor

told her he liked tying women

up and locking them in a

cupboard.

Girlfriend 2: Taylor told her he had

a fetish for bondage, whips, and ties

and said that he wanted to tie her 15

year old daughter up with cable ties

and have sexual intercourse with her.

• Blanco, Juan Ignacio. "John Taylor." Murderpedia. 17 Apr. 2016.
• Brooke, Chris . "Leanne's killer 'kept her body in a freezer'." Daily Mail .com. 17 Apr. 2016.
• Elvidge, Suzanne . "Forensic Cases: The Murder of Leanne Tiernan." Explore Forensics. 19 Mar. 2016. 16 Apr. 2016.
• "How Leanne's Killer was Caught." BBC News. 8 Jul. 2002. 15 Apr. 2016.
• "John Taylor." The Forensics Library. 2006. 14 Apr. 2016.
• "John Taylor: Killer in the Woods." Crime and Investigation. 17 Apr. 2016.
• "Leanne Killer Jailed for Life." BBC News. 8 Jul. 2002. 16 Apr. 2016
• "Murder of Leanne Tiernan." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Dec. 2015. 14 Apr. 2016.
• Stokes, Paul . "Police Plead for Help as Missing Girl is Found Strangled in Woods." The Telegraph. 23 Aug. 2001. 14 Apr. 2016.

A former girlfriend, who had briefly lived with Taylor, told police that she had often visited Lindley Woods with him while they were dating, and that she had eventually broke off the relationship with him because of his bondage fetish and the feeling "that she was being raped"

Crime Scene

Investigation

Hayley Brown

Dr. Zhou

Forensic Biology

April 20, 2016

• After 9 months with no leads, crime scene discovered in Lindley woods.
• Immediate evidence:
• Floral duvet
• Plastic bin-liners
• Twine
• Dog collar
• Cable ties
• Scarf
• Missing: boots and coat
• Underwear placement - motive?

Victim

• Detective Superintendent Chris Gregg ran Leanne's missing person case
• Scene reconstruction
• Largest search party in West Yorkshire
• No immediate obvious suspects, cold case?

Trial

Name: Leanne Tiernan

Age: 16 years old

Missing: November 26, 2000

Found: August 20, 2001

Location: Lindley woods

"It is a shocking murder. She was devoted to her mother and her sister, had friends at school and was happy." -Det. Supt. Chris Gregg

February 15, 2002:

• Mr. Justice Poole
• Leeds Crown Court
• pled guilty for the abduction

July 8, 2002:

• Mr. Justice Astill
• Pled guilty to the murder of Leanne Tiernan.
• Same day sentencing

“You are a dangerous sexual sadist. Your purpose in kidnapping this young girl was so that you could satisfy your perverted cravings. This was a planned, premeditated encounter. …It was a cold and calculating act and the suffering you caused was immeasurable.” -Justice Astill

Concluding:

Cold cases reopened

• Deborah Alison Wood (aged 20) whose body was found burning near Burley Park Station, Leeds, in January 1996. Police believe her body had been kept in cold storage. She was found wrapped in bin bags and bedding.
• Yvonne Fitt (aged 33) whose body was found in Lindley Woods in September 1992. She had been missing since January 1992.
• Lindsay Jo Rimer (aged 13) who disappeared not far from her home in Hebden Bridge in November 1994. Her body was found at the bottom of a canal two miles from her home five months later. The cause of death was strangulation.
• Rebbecca Hall (aged 19) who disappeared 13 April 2001. Her body was found in an alley behind a car park in Bradford on 26 April 2001.