Norfolk Police have new information in 20-year-old murder case of Michelle Bettles from Norwich
Detectives investigating the 20-year-old murder of a woman say they have received new calls following a fresh appeal for information.
Norfolk Police made the public appeal for information on the 20th anniversary of Michelle Bettles' murder in March.
They had found DNA that, thanks to advances in technology, gave them new hope of solving the case.
Ms Bettles was a 22-year-old mother of three from Norwich who was working as a sex worker when she was killed.
She had been working in the red-light district of the city on the evening of Thursday, March 28, 2002. Her body was found three days later by a dog walker in the village of Scarning, near Dereham.
A murder investigation was launched at the time but her killer was never identified.
Her mother, Denise, told ITV Anglia last month that time could never heal her heartache and that she and Michelle's father, John, would never stop hoping to see justice served. Mrs Bettles said: "Even now, every time I see a woman with long brown hair I think it must be Michelle.
"Isn't that horrible? Even now, I just don't want to believe that she died and I certainly don't want to think that she was lying out there in the woods on her own."
Ms Bettles had not kept an appointment with a regular client, whom she had arranged to meet close to her home in the Dereham Road area of Norwich.
CCTV footage from the evening showed her walking along St Benedict’s Street towards the city centre at 8.20pm that evening, suggesting she never intended to keep the appointment with the regular client as she was heading in the opposite direction.
The review of Ms Bettles' murder is also looking at a potential sighting of her in the City Road area, walking towards Queens Road just after 10.30pm, on the evening she was last seen.
There were further, unconfirmed, sightings of her around the Rouen Road and Ber Street area.
Major crime review manager Andy Guy of Norfolk Police said on Tuesday: “We are pleased with the response to our public appeal, and we have received eight calls so far.
“We are encouraged by those people who have contacted us with information and would like to thank members of the public who have come forward already.
“We will be following up on any names suggested as friends or possible contacts of Michelle, to build up a more detailed picture of her life and the events leading up to her death.
“We are still interested in hearing from anyone who may have been in contact with Michelle in the days leading up to her death or anyone who may have any information that might assist the investigation.
"We hope that someone out there knows the truth or can help us bring her killer to justice.”