Thirty-two years after her tragic death, police are making a desperate new plea to find the person who strangled a 23-year-old woman and dumped her naked body in a carrot field.
Julie Finley was last seen alive in Liverpool city center on August 5, 1994. She was spotted talking to a white man believed to be in his 20s or 30s near the Royal Liverpool University Hospital around 11 p.m.
The next morning, around 2:30 a. m. , a witness said they saw a woman matching Julie’s description arguing with a man outside the Wheatsheaf Public House.
That man, according to reports, was trying to force her into a white transit van.
Julie’s body was discovered by a cyclist in a field near the Rainford bypass in Merseyside. She had been strangled, and the case has gone cold for decades.
Now, Detective Inspector Sam Davies is urging anyone with information to come forward. “It is 32 years since Julie was murdered but the investigation into her death remains ongoing,” he said in a statement.
“We know that back in 1994 people may have had information about Julie’s death which, either through loyalty or fear, they didn’t bring to our attention,” Davies added. “My message would be it is never too late to do the right thing.”
Ten months after the murder, on July 21, 1995, a man picked up a hitchhiker near the site. The hitchhiker became visibly agitated when they drove past the carrot field.
He reportedly told the driver that months earlier, his motorcycle had broken down in the area. While fixing it, he heard bangs and screams from a van. When he opened the doors, he saw a naked young woman who cried out, “Help me, help me, for god’s sake, help me.”
A man then appeared, claimed the woman was his girlfriend, and the hitchhiker left. That hitchhiker has never been traced by authorities.
In 2014, Julie’s elderly parents shared childhood photos of her in hopes of sparking someone’s memory. Her mother said at the time: “Albie and I have been put through 20 years of hell and torment… it’s difficult to explain what the last 20 years have been like.”
Police say they remain committed to helping Julie’s family find closure.
Anyone with tips is urged to message @MerPolCC, call 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.
Could someone still hold the key to solving this decades-old mystery?
