2.1 On Sunday 9^th October 1983, at about 10.30am, Cynthia Bolshaw’s body was found at her bungalow in Heswall, where she lived alone.

2.2 Mrs. Bolshaw, a fifty year old divorcee, had arrived home from work on the previous evening at around 6.20pm.

2.3 On the previous Saturday, October 1^st, Mrs. Bolshaw’s son had married his wife who had previously been staying with Mrs. Bolshaw for a few months. Following the wedding the young couple left to live in Yorkshire.

2.4 Plans had been made for Mrs. Bolshaw to visit her son and daughter in law on Sunday 9^th October. Arrangements had been made for Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, (sister and brother in law of the deceased) to call round at about 10.30am on the Sunday to see her before she set off for Yorkshire.

2.5 When they called at the house there was no reply although lights were on. They went in through the unlocked back door and found Mrs. Bolshaw’s naked body face down in a bath of water.

2.6 There was no sign of a forced entry to the property. The back door was unlocked. The transom window of the ground floor bedroom was open. The porch light was on. Mrs. Bolshaw’s car was not there.

2.7 Mrs. Bolshaw’s car had been seen by her neighbour on the drive at 11.30pm on the previous night (Saturday 8^th October). The porch light was on at this time, too. The neighbour said this was usual when either Mrs. Bolshaw was going out or was expecting a caller.

2.8 The car had been noted by police to be parked on the verge of the A540 High Chester Road at 5.45am and 7.30am on the Sunday morning when Mrs. Bolshaw was found.

2.9 Mrs. Bolshaw's sister said it appeared to her that she had been interrupted in the middle of tidying up the kitchen, as there were a number of kitchen utensils lying about, and the fridge was open. Otherwise, there was no sign of disturbance in the house.

2.10 There was a large damp patch (presumed to be urine) on the bottom sheet of the bed.

2.11 There were no obvious signs of injury when the body was found.

2.12 A post mortem revealed Mrs. Bolshaw had been strangled and a number of small bruises were noted to her head and body. There was some facial bruising and evidence she had received a blow to the side of her head by a fist or instrument.

2.13 There was evidence of recent sexual intercourse but no sign of sexual assault.

2.14 A black negligee, which was on the bed, was found to have a semen stain on it.

2.15 In 1997 a DNA test was conducted on a vaginal swab which had been taken from the deceased in 1983. No profile was generated, either because the sample was degraded or contained contaminating substances.

2.16 There were a few small spots of blood on the bedding, on a doorjamb, and some wet blood stained kitchen towel in the kitchen. Mrs. Bolshaw had a small cut to her finger, which was covered with a sticking plaster. A broken glass in the bin may have caused the cut, and the blood found in the house was thought to belong to Mrs. Bolshaw.

2.17 On the following Tuesday (11^th October), a stocking mask (a cut off leg from a pair of tights or stockings) containing items of Mrs Bolshaw’s jewellery was found in a telephone box. This was some 50 miles away at Romiley, near Manchester.

2.18 The stocking mask carried a purple fibre from the deceased’s bedspread.

2.19 It was later noted that part of a page had been torn from Mrs. Bolshaw’s diary.

2.20 Brown fibres, thought to have originated from brown corduroy trousers, were found on the bottom bed sheet, the bedroom stool, the negligee and on the driver’s seat of the car.

2.21 At the time Mrs. Bolshaw was killed, John and his ex-wife Barbara Taft were living at 23 Mostyn Avenue, Heswall, a few miles from 5 Buffs Lane.

2.22 At the beginning of 1999, despite there having been several suspects, the files were still open and a press conference was called.

2.23 It was announced that through the advances of scientific techniques the semen stain that had been found on the negligee worn by the deceased on the night of her murder had yielded a DNA profile.

• This set in train the events that led to John’s conviction.
• Information given to the police led to them to speak to his ex-wife.
• He was arrested, a sample of his blood was taken voluntarily and scientists matched it to the semen on the negligee.
  

2.24 He was interviewed and on the duty solicitor’s advice made no comment other than to adamantly deny committing the murder, destroying clothing, or tearing pages from a diary.