Peter Ross was touched so much by the heartbreaking story of Stefan Kiszko that he now visits his grave every week - despite never meeting the man.
Mr Kiszko was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1976 and served 16 years in prison. Described as a vulnerable man with learning difficulties, the 23-year-old at the time was accused of killing little Lesley Molseed.
Lesley was just 11 when she was abducted, brutally murdered and sexually assaulted when going to buy a loaf of bread near her home in West Yorkshire.
A timid and teetotal tax clerk and church-goer, Mr Kiszko was arrested after three girls told police he had indecently exposed himself to them just days before Lesley was found dead, reports Manchester Evening News.
Mr Kiszko, who had the mental age of a 12-year-old, was eventually charged with Lesley's murder on Christmas Eve in 1975. He was convicted after a trial at Leeds Crown Court amid a slew of mistakes.
Given a life sentence and going on to serve 16 years in prison, he was repeatedly attacked by other inmates who saw him as a convicted sex offender.
It wasn't until February 1992 that Mr Kiszko was cleared and released from prison. A police investigation established errors in the original case and it was established that Mr Kiszko could not have been the killer as he was infertile and sperm was discovered on Lesley's clothing.
The girls who had told the trial that Mr Kiszko had exposed himself to them finally admitted they had lied.
Tory MP Anthony Beaumont-Dark said it was the start of "one of the worst miscarriages of justice of all time".
Tragically, Mr Kiszko died one year after being released from prison aged 41 after suffering a heart attack. Four months later his mother Charlotte died and the pair are buried together in Rochdale Cemetery.
“The story shows the disgusting behaviour that came from the police when they set him up – and the flawed and corrupt justice system that put Stefan in prison,” Peter, who visits his grave weekly, said.
“Stefan was in prison for 16 years. His mother, Charlotte, went to go see Stefan – she knew he was innocent. Every year, she planted a Christmas tree for him.
“Charlotte wanted so much to get Stefan out. But as much as she tried, she couldn’t.”
He added: “I’m involved in looking after his grave. Each year, I now put a Christmas tree around Stefan’s grave – if you go there today, you will see 16 Christmas trees around his grave. Stefan’s grave is all illuminated.
“Every week, I go to the graveyard and all the staff at the cemetery know me. In my heart, I feel the terrible, unbelievable ordeal of Stefan being called abusive names, being cut up and beaten. I feel all the pain that Charlotte went through – that’s why I have to keep going to his grave as I do.
“I just feel like I’m walking in the footsteps of Stefan, who is now buried with his mother and father. When I’m in the graveyard, they’re all brought together, I talk to them.
“I spend so much time there. I love it.”
It wasn't until many years later that justice finally prevailed. Ronald Castree was arrested in 2005 after a sex worker, who said she met him in a hotel room, made a complaint of sexual assault. Even though no charges were ever brought against him, Castree's DNA was taken and placed in a national database.
It turned out to be a direct match to the DNA taken from Lesley's underwear. Castree was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
