Lorranie Jacob murder: Police reveal confession letter

Feb 27 2008

A LETTER confessing to the murder of Lorraine Jacob in Liverpool’s Rodney Street has been found in the house of a man suspected of the killing, police revealed today.

Murder squad detectives have re-opened the case of Miss Jacob, unsolved for almost 40 years, after finding clues at the Wigan home of Harvey Richardson, 78, who died this month after suffering from cancer.

Detectives have now revealed one of the items was an unsigned, nine-page confession note, which is currently being analysed by handwriting experts.

The 19-year-old’s body was found at around 8am on September 2, 1970, by council binmen in a small entry at the back of the Young Women's Christian Association, in Rodney Street.

The case was reopened after decorators found clues in the Wigan house, including the note, an item of clothing, an air pistol and news paper cuttings about the murder.

Det Supt Ian Kemble of Merseyside police said: “One thing I can say about the note is that it is very detailed and appears to be old.”

Police are now appealing to anybody who may have associated with Richardson. He is thought to have lived in the Toxteth area around the time of the murder and may have been studying languages in the city.