Detectives admit solving 40-year murder of Essex woman Diane Jones 'unlikely' after suspect's death
Detectives investigating the unsolved murder of a woman 40 years ago have admitted they are unlikely ever to track down her killer, after the death of their main suspect.
Diane Jones was last seen alive on 23 July 1983, and the body of the 35-year-old was found three months later in woodland in Suffolk.
On the 40th anniversary of her disappearance - as they appealed for more information - police conceded that the death of the suspect in the case meant it was "unlikely we will be able to progress much further now".
Witnesses at the time said they saw Mrs Jones and her husband Robert – a local GP - drinking at the Woolpack Inn in Coggeshall, near Braintree in Essex.
The couple left at around 11pm to drive home – a farmhouse in Colchester Road, near to the junction with the A120.
Mrs Jones' husband claimed he last saw her at the front gate to their house after she got out of the car, while he parked up and was dealing with their dog.
She was not reported missing until nine days later, at which point Essex Police started a missing person investigation.
On 22 October 1983 - three months after her disappearance - her body was discovered some 30 miles away in Suffolk, in a copse near the A1093 in Martlesham.
A post-mortem examination found she had been hit on the head, suffering a fractured skull. Suffolk Constabulary and Essex Police began a joint murder inquiry.
A man was arrested as part of the investigation, but was ultimately released without charge.
The crime has been subject to a review over the past three years by the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Unsolved Case Team.
Several new leads have been followed-up and new witnesses have been interviewed. Inquiries have also been undertaken in France and into a potential murder weapon.
Much of this work was focused on the original suspect in the case, however he has since died and this now limits the scope of the investigation.
Despite this, police said the investigation team were "continuing to pursue leads and will exhaust enquiries for as long as they are able to".
Andy Guy, who leads the force's investigations into unsolved crimes, said: “We had been making some positive progress in the case of Diane’s murder and were unearthing new information, even after all this time.
“The death of the suspect in this inquiry means it is unlikely we will be able to progress much further now, as we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this crime.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach the evidential threshold required for a prosecution for murder on two separate occasions.
“This case will remain with our team. Several people have spoken to us recently who had not felt able to do so before, but we would still like to hear from anyone who believes they have information about the incident.”
Anyone with information should call the team on 01953 423819 or by emailing unsolvedcasereviews@norfolk.police.uk
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