Just curious! Anyone remember a murder in Castleton

[Fudbeer]

I remember this one in winnats pass in the eighteenth century and they still haunt the place ...

 

http://www.zurichmansion.org/parks/winnats.html

[Wadsleyite]

The potholer who was trapped in Peak Cavern was Neil Moss, a philosophy student from Oxford University. In March 1959 he was trying to descend an unexplored shaft at the limit of the known parts of the cave system. He got trapped while descending the shaft, and ropes were lowered to him to bring him back but they were not strong enough and snapped. In the end he became irretrievably stuck and died from the carbon dioxide build-up. His family asked that his body be left there so that nobody else would be endangered by trying to retrieve it.

[simonj]

Full story here:

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=151061&highlight=neil+moss

[Sovereign1]

Susan Elizabeth Renhard (17.11.1961 – 27.6.1983) was the only daughter of David and Olive Renhard. She was born in Birmingham and brought up in the small village of West Hagley near Stourbridge. She had one sibling, a younger brother called Ian.

 

In 1983 red-haired Susan was engaged to be married to Bob Wood, another 21 year old student from Sunderland, and was living in a flat in Heaton Moor, Stockport whilst she completed her studies in Graphic Art at Manchester Polytechnic. As part of her studies, she was had to carry out a photographic project and thought the nearby Peak District would be a suitable choice. Although she had already completed her photo project, (which included a slideshow and taped documentary), she was dissatisfied with the initial results, and she decided that some of the photographs needed retaking. Her father later recalled: “Susan has always been very thorough about everything she does – a real perfectionist. “ As part of her itinerary, Susan intended to spend a whole day in Castleton, one of the District’s most beautiful towns, where she could then photograph its famous dales, caves and ruined Norman castle.

 

Although her visit was brief, Susan nevertheless booked a room at the Lose Hill Study Centre in Castleton where, on the 27th June 1983, she left alone in order to take some pictures. It was a bright, sunny day and, being a Monday, there was a lull in the normal crush of visitors to the area.

Towards the beginning of the afternoon Susan was seen by two members of the public walking alone in a famous beauty spot called Cave Dale. This long valley runs from the centre of Castleton, past the ruined Peveril Castle and out on to the moors.

 

Nothing was then seen of Susan until the early evening when a couple out walking discovered her body partially hidden behind a dry stone wall on a footpath leading up to the battlements of Peveril Castle. (In contemporary television news accounts, police forensic teams seemed to be concentrating their investigations around a derelict dry stone wall which ran across one side of the slope leading up to the castle).

 

Susan’s hands had been loosely tied with her camera strap. Her face and head had been hooded by her cagoule, and her jeans had then been draped over the lower part of her body in an apparent effort to make her body look decent. The police estimated that she had been murdered some time between 2 and 3pm in the afternoon. A day after her death, police officially confirmed Susan’s identity to the national press.

 

The murder shocked the inhabitants of Castleton, and there was an immediate climate of fear which only increased in the days that followed when another young woman, Diana Towers, was found murdered only 10 miles away at the site of the Roman fort, Melandra Castle. The authorities, however, quickly discounted any link.

 

The police launched an appeal for a man to come forward that had been seen against the skyline some 200 yards from where Susan’s body was eventually found. This ‘running man’ was seen about half an hour before Susan’s body was discovered and was initially the chief suspect. More ominously, they also appealed for local ‘peeping toms’ (who were known to be watching parties of schoolchildren on the day) to come forward with any information they might have. By July 8th The Times reported that fifteen such individuals had come forward to talk to the police.

 

When Susan’s body was examined it was discovered that she had not been sexually assaulted but her body, particularly her legs, hands, arms and head, clearly indicated that she had been pushed to the ground, and that she had fought violently with her attacker. Dr. Stephen Jones, a Home Office pathologist, later recorded over 30 injuries, mostly bruises and abrasions, which indicated that she had made every attempt to defend herself. She had been manually strangled – a process which can lead to unconsciousness in less than 20 seconds, and her hands had been tied and lower clothing removed.

 

The murder case quickly became national news, and Derbyshire police allocated 60 officers to try and track down her killer. Detective Superintendent Peter Burgess took a prominent part in the case. The police initially looked without success at the film in Susan’s camera to see if it could reveal any clues about her attacker. One of the problems the police faced was the possibility that the murder had been committed by a tourist. On the 29th June 1983, therefore, police made a nationwide appeal for people to come forward and report any man who had unexpectedly cut short a holiday to the area, or was behaving in a suspicious way. They were still intrigued by the silhouette of a man seen on a ridge at Cave Dale above the murder spot. This figure was later eliminated from the enquiry when a man came forward to say that he had been horse-playing with his girlfriend.

 

On July 4th, the police sealed off Castleton for four hours and stopped every motorist passing through in their search for Susan’s killer. Those who said they had been in the area the week before then underwent more detailed questioning.

 

On the 9th July 1983, the High Peak Coroner, Mr. Clive Rushton, opened and adjourned the inquest into Susan’s death, pending the further police investigation. No cause of death was officially confirmed at that stage, and none of Susan’s relatives were present. An interim death certificate was granted, however, which allowed preparations for her funeral to formally begin.

 

On July 10th 1983, Derbyshire police undertook a full scale reconstruction of the day that Susan died with Detective Constable Brenda Kirby playing the part of Susan. About 45 members of the public returned to the Dale many of whom were members of the potholing, hiking and day tripping communities. Amongst the witnesses was a young couple from North Wales whom police thought were amongst the last to see Susan alive, and the running man detectives had originally thought might be a suspect. Detectives with stopwatches and maps monitored the events, so that an accurate timeframe for the events of that day could be created. Vast swathes of the moor were sealed off in an operation that took over four hours.

 

Shortly after the reconstruction, police revealed that a 14 yr old girl had been stalked the same afternoon as Susan died by a man who had been watching her through binoculars. Fortunately, he had been frightened away. Press reports later described him as a man in his 30s or 40s, so it was subsequently discovered that it could not have been Susan’s killer. On July 12th, a local businessman (who had children of his own) put up rewards totalling £2,000 for any information that might help the police investigation, saying that he had been sickened by the deaths of Susan and Diana.

 

In the middle of July, police also became especially interested in a film taken by an Australian tourist at the time of the murder. Experts at Central TV had seen what they thought was a figure of a man crouching, and the film was subsequently flown to NASA in Texas for a more detailed analysis. The police subsequently released the enhanced footage on the 19th July. As it turned out, however, the film did not yield anything of importance.

 

By the end of the police investigation, some 1200 witness statements were taken, and some 2,000 questionnaires had been completed by the public.

On the 14th July 1983 Susan’s funeral took place at a church close to the family home in West Hagley.

 

On the 22nd July, according to newspaper reports, police received a tip off from an anonymous caller. The man left a 6 digit number, and police appealed for him to contact them again. (Whether this call was genuine and a breakthrough for the case is not clarified in the subsequent newspaper reports.)

 

The police then arranged for 5 key witnesses to go back to the scene of the murder following the reconstruction, and announced on the 24th July that they had new clues.

 

Subsequently, Police arrested Norman Hugh Smith , a 17 yr old computer student , who lived at Sunnyside Villas in Buxton Road in Castleton. He lived with his parents and two younger brothers. He first appeared in court at Buxton on the 25th August 1983 charged with Susan’s murder and was jeered by a large crowd on his arrival. He was subsequently remanded in custody until the following year.

 

Smith’s trial began on the 20th February 1984 at Nottingham Crown Court. Both Susan’s and Smith’s parents were present throughout. The prosecution alleged that Susan had died to satisfy the sexual curiosity of an immature teenager: in police interviews Smith had admitted that he wanted to see a woman’s naked body. Smith’s defence counsel, Martin Thomas, said that Susan’s death had been an accident, the clumsy attempts of an immature youth to steal a kiss.

 

Smith was described by his Defence Counsel as: “a stumbling, confused schoolboy”, and his story was that he chatted to Susan whilst she was taking photographs for her project. She had suddenly stumbled and he fell on top of her, his forearm accidentally landing across her throat. Smith explained in court: “I moved closer, perhaps for a kiss or something. She must have stumbled because she went backwards and because I had my hand on her shoulder I went over as well. She ended up on her back, and I was on top of her. “ Smith said he had removed her trousers on impulse and said: “she had not moved and I heard a funny sound. I thought it was her breathing. I had not thought there was anything wrong, but obviously she did not seem to be alright. I got scared.” He continued to insist that, when he left Susan lying on the footpath, she was still alive and that someone else must have come along and killed her. He also denied hitting Susan. He stuck doggedly to his story that she was still breathing and her eyes were moving. He maintained that he thought she was merely stunned. He said he tied her hands and covered her head with her cagoule when he left her “because her eyes were looking towards where I was going”.

 

Douglas Draycott QC, prosecuting, said that Smith’s claims were “total rubbish” and that to believe his story meant believing in the most incredible coincidence in the world, eg that there could have been a killer on the loose in Cave Dale that same afternoon. The jury had also earlier seen colour photographs of Susan’s body which indicated the extent of the struggle that had taken place, and the Home Office pathologist, Dr. Jones said that many of the head injuries could have been caused by Susan hitting her head against stones on the ground. The jury also heard of an alleged confession by Smith to Detective Sergeant Brian Willis when Smith had broken down under interrogation and said: “it was an accident, I didn’t mean to do it.”

 

Douglas Draycott outlined in court the forensic evidence which linked Norman Smith to Susan’s murder. Police had discovered a thumb print on Susan’s camera case and, on her jumper, a single red nylon fibre from Smith’s jumper. The prosecution alleged that Smith had started walking out on the footpath from Castleton, and had come across Susan walking back from Peveril Castle into town. The Crown argued that Smith had made some kind of approach to Susan, and there had been a struggle in which she fought back as Smith tried to strip her. He had then manually strangled her. He subsequently covered her face and head with her own cagoule, and placed her jeans over her legs to make her look decent. Draycott also told the jury that Smith had been evasive when initially interviewed and had denied any connection with the offence, but later admitted his curiosity about seeing a woman naked.

 

In court, Smith admitted that there had been a family cover-up with his brother supporting the fact that he had been at home at the time of the murder, and his mother saying that the scratches on his face had been caused by the family cat.

 

In his summing up, Mr. Justice Caulfield was in little doubt about the enormity of the crime. He said that Susan had been killed by a “very wicked man” in an act that had “fouled” the Peak District beauty spot. Moreover, once dying or dead, his actions in stripping, tying and covering Susan’s body amounted to an “act of desecration and insult”.

 

The jury of 8 women and 4 men retired and took 2 hours, 40 minutes to reach their final verdict.

 

On February 24th 1984 Norman Smith was found guilty of the murder of Susan Renhard. As he was under the age of 18 at the time of the offence, he was ordered to be detained indefinitely “until Her Majesty’s pleasure be known”, in effect, a life sentence. As the verdict was delivered, he stood impassively in the dock. On the same day, Smith’s solicitor, Mr. Timothy Oddy, announced that there would be an appeal against the sentence. Smith’s mother, Shirley, said after the trial: “we are shattered by this. I still believe it was an accident. It was not premeditated.”

 

In his summing up, Mr. Justice Caulfield attempted to pay tribute to Susan and chose to deliberately echo the nickname of Castleton: ‘Gem of the Peaks’ by famously declaring: “The girl you killed, this jury said you strangled, she was a gem among maidens, and I have no doubt she fought to the point of her death to prevent the attack that you made on her modesty”.

 

Susan’s father, David Renhard, a retired law lecturer, said shortly after the verdict was announced: “It has been a very stressful and emotional week. To see a young man sent down for life is very distressing whoever he is. I was really touched by the remarks of the judge about the sort of girl Susan was. She was just like that. She was very humorous and a lovely girl. The police have been wonderful in this investigation.” He added: “We will miss our daughter but we will try and get on with our lives as best we can”.

Smith’s mother, Shirley, said: “I still believe he is innocent. I think it was an accident”. Smith’s father, Jim, later said that the Smiths felt ‘deep sympathy’ for Susan’s family.

 

On the 20th July 1985, Smith’s appeal to challenge his murder conviction was refused by the Court of Appeal.

 

The Home Office does not discuss individual cases but, as Smith has apparently never admitted his ultimate responsibility in killing Susan, it is likely that he still remains in prison to this date.

Following the trial, David Renhard subsequently became heavily involved in the Society of Compassionate Friends, and Support After Murder and Manslaughter, two charities that seek to help relatives who have lost loved ones through homicide.

Edited January 31, 2009 by Sovereign1
inappropriate symbol in text.

[hillsbro]

Thank you, Sovereign1, for your detailed account of this sad case. As a regular visitor to Castleton I cannot walk through Cave Dale without remembering that poor girl and a life so full of promise, that was cut short in such a brutal and tragic way.

[Cycleracer]

There was a murder of a prostitute from Pitsmoor about 10 or 12 years ago found on Mam Tor that is the only one I remember.

[hillsbro]

There was a murder of a prostitute from Pitsmoor about 10 or 12 years ago found on Mam Tor that is the only one I remember.

 

That was Dawn Shields in 1994; the case remains unsolved. See http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4652717.html

[manzmanz]

A few years ago I used to drink in a pub in Castleton and vaguely remember a local telling me that a young girl (tourist I think) was murdered and that a very young local lad had been jailed.

 

Its perhaps 20 years ago since the actual murder but to be honest I cannot remember much about what I was told that night and it’s bugged me ever since that I wasn’t listening (or forgot, or just too drunk to remember) and I’ve never found any details about a murder in Castelton on the net

 

I’m just curious as to what the story was - does anyone remember this happening in Castleton?

 

Thanks Sovereign1 - much appreciated - you seem to have got it all in your post thanks for researching it - Ive never been able to find anything!

[Dick]

Very good post Sovereign. I remember the case but not all the details you give.

A very tragic case all round.

Reading that I get the feeling that if his parents had given him £50 for his birthday and told him to catch the bus to Sheffield and spend it on some of the ladies of the night hanging around Broomhall all this would have been avoided.

[manzmanz]

On the 20th July 1985, Smith’s appeal to challenge his murder conviction was refused by the Court of Appeal.

 

The Home Office does not discuss individual cases but, as Smith has apparently never admitted his ultimate responsibility in killing Susan, it is likely that he still remains in prison to this date.

Following the trial, David Renhard subsequently became heavily involved in the Society of Compassionate Friends, and Support After Murder and Manslaughter, two charities that seek to help relatives who have lost loved ones through homicide.

 

 

So almost 25 years on he is probably still inside - aged over 40 now!