“Examine your conscience” say police who are looking again at an unsolved murder dating back 30 years.
Bill Smith was brutally murdered while walking on an unlit pathway near to Mirfield Memorial Park.
West Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Review Team is reviewing the 1986 murder and detectives believe someone in the local community will know who was responsible.
Mr Smith’s murder took place around 10.30pm on Saturday October 25 1986.
Det Insp Paul Smith said: “West Yorkshire Police has made a key commitment that a case is never closed until it is resolved and this is one of a number of serious historic offences which we are reviewing.
“Bill Smith was murdered in a particularly brutal fashion exactly 30 years ago now and we believe the answer to his murder remains in the local community.
“With the 30th anniversary of his murder now upon us I would ask persons who have information about the offence to examine their consciences.
“Someone will know who attacked Mr Smith and I can only presume having that knowledge and not sharing it must weigh increasingly heavily on them as the years pass.
“I would ask that if any person has information regarding Mr Smith’s death, they to come forward to help us deliver justice for a good man who was well liked and respected in his community.”
The 56-year-old was violently attacked on a path on the embankment that borders the rear of the Mirfield Memorial Park and the Calder and Hebble Canal.
His body was found at the bottom of an embankment in shallow water.
A post mortem found Mr Smith had been asphyxiated.
He worked for a newspaper in Dewsbury as a customer liaison executive and had just returned from a working holiday in Jersey on the day of his murder.
He lived with his wife and two teenage sons, moving to Mirfield from Savile Town a year before his death.
He was described as a “quiet man, well respected in the community, and had no known enemies.
Anyone who can assist should contact West Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Review Team on 101.
Information can also be given anonymously to the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
In unrelated investigations, police would like to speak to the people pictured in the image gallery below. The people pictured in the images may be witnesses as well as suspects. If you recognise anyone, contact police on 101 quoting the reference number on the image caption.
