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50 Years Later: Unsolved Child Murders Haunt Merseyside
15 Aug
Summary
- Two 11-year-old boys were murdered in Whiston in 1980.
- An initial suspect confessed but was acquitted due to police failings.
- Merseyside Police have re-opened the case and seek new evidence.
Merseyside Police are actively pursuing leads in the unsolved double child murder of 11-year-old school friends John Greenwood and Gary Miller, tragically attacked on August 16, 1980. The boys were discovered injured in Whiston but later died in hospital, leaving behind a decades-long mystery.
An initial investigation focused on a local man who confessed to the crime, claiming the boys had sworn at him. However, he retracted his statement and was acquitted in 1981 due to significant police failings during his interrogation.
The case was re-investigated by Merseyside Police in 2016 following legal changes and a campaign by the victims' families. Despite extensive reviews, compelling new evidence has not yet emerged to allow the original suspect to be re-interviewed, with the force acknowledging past investigative shortcomings.
