A major development in a double murder that shook Merseyside led to the case being thrust into the spotlight 36 years after the tragedy.
John Greenwood and Gary Miller had been found severely injured beneath a mattress at an old colliery. The 11-year-old friends died from the wounds suffered at the hands of a killer who is yet to face justice.
In 2016, Merseyside Police launched a new appeal for help for their investigation after the Sunday Times highlighted potential new witnesses. A year later there were more revelations, and a public apology.
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John and Gary had been discovered by a dog walker at a rubbish tip - now Stadt Moers Park in Whiston - on the evening of Saturday, August 16, 1980. They were rushed to hospital but their injuries, tragically, proved fatal.
A man from nearby Prescot, John Cheeseman, was prosecuted for their murder but cleared at Liverpool Crown Court after a series of issues with the case were exposed. Thirty six years later a new potential witness claimed a man turned up at her door on the night of the murders with “what looked like red paint” on his trousers.
That tip sparked an appeal by Merseyside Police for a man spotted with three young boys - thought to have been aged between 12 and 14 - near to the church hall on Dragon Lane on the day of the tragic attacks. They were spotted between 6.45pm and 7.20pm.
Two of the boys were reportedly stood on the church hall wall and the other in the grounds. Police have asked for anyone who may have been one of those boys to come forward.
Merseyside Police said the new appeal followed information given to the force's Serious Crime Review Unit.
The following year the force revealed "a number of people have been spoken to by officers but detectives are keen to speak to potential witnesses who they believe could have information which is vital to the investigation".
Further appeal points had emerged, including for anyone with information about a July 1980 incident in which two boys aged between 10 and 15 were said to have been seen being attacked by an older man outside Whiston health centre. A search for a boy, also aged between 10 and 15, who went by the name of either 'Duffy' or 'Cuffy' and was seen with another boy at the back of Whiston Labour Club on the day of the murders was also detailed.
Yet despite the progress the new investigation hit a wall in 2019, when a file was submitted by police to the Director of Public Prosecutions calling for him to authorise detectives' next steps. The bid was refused, though police were told that could change if "compelling" new evidence was provided.
Then Chief Constable Andy Cooke met with the boys' families, who expressed concerns at the original investigation. Their frustration led to an apology, with Mr Cooke stating: “Having carried out a number of cold case reviews and following the reinvestigation of the murder it is fair to say that the investigation was not as thorough as it could have been, or in line with the investigation standards expected of policing today.
“On behalf of Merseyside Police I want to offer our sincere apologies to the families of John and Gary, and I would like to reassure them that we remain committed to finding the person(s) responsible.”
*If you can help with any of those appeals you can contact Merseyside Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online here.
