Casefile True Crime - Case 84: Lesley Molseed (Part 2)

Episode Date: May 19, 2018

[Part 2 of 2] With Stefan Kiszko behind bars for the murder of Lesley Molseed, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester police were commended for their exceptional work in bringing the child killer to justice. The people of Rochdale once again felt safe knowing that the monster had been locked away… or so it seemed. --- Episode researched and written by Milly Raso Additional edits by Tayla Vos For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-84-lesley-molseed-part-2

A splash of fresh water will reach the depths of your heart. Those mighty blue waves can propel you forward or they can calm and soothe. Coast to Michigan coast. Simply feel the flow in the moment. And let those vast lakes, rivers and streams create everlasting memories. Jump right in and let fresh wash over you in Pure Michigan. Keep it fresh at Michigan.org. Or on our website.

Today's episode deals with a crime committed against a child that won't be suitable for all listeners. Nine-year-old Sarah, not her real name, left her home in the Turf Hill estate to meet her best friend. She lived a short walk from Leslie Moleseed's family on Delamy Road and both girls had gone to the same school. The day was July 3rd, 1976, and the fear that plagued Rochdale in the wake of Leslie's murder had long since faded. Child killer Stefan Kishko was in custody. His child would begin in four days' time. Doors were left unlocked and children were allowed out unsupervised again. Life had returned to normal. In the semi-industrial end of Rochdale was Vavasor Street, a grey brick road encased by Rochdale's trademark terraces.

There was a quiet, lonely street with minimal traffic. Sarah would often meet there with her friend to play. On this occasion, the two chased each other in a game of tag. A red taxi pulled into the street and crawled along the curb, rolling to a stop beside the girls. Inside the vehicle was a lone male driver. Sarah didn't give him a second thought, assuming the taxi was hailed by a neighbour who'd appear any second. It wasn't until the driver emerged from the vehicle that the girl sensed something was wrong. He was walking toward them, not the house. When he got to arm's length, he lunged. When his friend managed to flee, the Sarah was grabbed and forced into the taxi.

After he slammed the door shut, she reached for the handle, but it was locked. The attacker leapt into the driver's seat and in seconds, the taxi was speeding away. Sarah yelled over and over, I want to go home, let me go. Each time her attacker responded, no, you're not going. She drove through Rochdale's suburban streets with clear familiarity, pulling up near a park at a derelict, empty house. Sarah was quickly forced inside. Half an hour into the attack, Sarah violently kicked the man in the leg. He faltered, and she took the split-second opportunity to escape.

Sarah ran home and told her mother what had happened. Rochdale police were called immediately. Suffering severe trauma, Sarah had difficulty remembering the exact details of what happened in the house. She did recall her attacker exposed his genitals and masturbated. There was no evidence of penetrative sexual attack, but semen staining was found on her clothing. She described her attacker as Caucasian, around 30 years old, with a stoppy build and receding ginger-red hair. Sarah climbed into a police car with her mother and took officers along the route the taxi had driven. As they drove beyond Turf Hill's narrow, leafy streets, she sprung up anxiously.

The red taxi was right there, on the road in front of them. In the front seat was the ginger-haired suspect. Police swooped in. Nine days later, on July 12th, Sarah's attacker was brought before Rochdale Magistrates Court. He pled guilty to indecent assault and incitement to commit an act of gross indecency. For his brazen and traumatic crime, he was only ordered to pay a fine of £50. He left the court a free man. This attack bore a chilling resemblance to the Leslie Molesede attack, which had occurred almost nine months earlier.

Both were young girls, residents of the Turf Hill estate, who were snatched off Rochdale streets within a few kilometres of each other. They were both taken to a secluded location and sexually assaulted in an identical manner that almost seemed too unique to be just a coincidence. Had Sarah not taken the chance to escape, both crimes may have ended the same way. But no connection was made between the two attacks. They couldn't be connected. Police had already caught the Leslie Molesede's killer. Behind bars, Stefan Kishko was the lowest of the low, a convicted pedophile who murdered his victim. Despised by the prison population, they taunted and threatened him constantly. Soon after arriving, he was set upon by a group of inmates.

In another attack, he was struck on the head with a mop and all, needing stitches. Even the prison chapel wasn't safe. There, Stefan was punched in the face. He received little sympathy from prison staff, who put the blame on Stefan, noting he was being difficult. He was often placed in segregation for his own safety. In May 1978, nearly two years after his murder conviction, Stefan Kishko's legal team launched an appeal. They pushed to get Stefan's conviction downgraded from murder to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Lord Justice Nigel Bridge ruled, quote, We can find no grounds whatsoever to condemn the jury's verdict of murder, as in any way unsafe or unsatisfactory.

The appeal is dismissed. In prison, Stefan's mental state deteriorated. Diagnosed with depression, paranoia and emotional instability, he'd often withdraw into a catatonic like silence. He struggled to think or act independently. Eventually, he refused food and soiled himself. As punishment, he was sent to the strip cell, where he had little else but a concrete slab for a bed. Years passed, and Stefan's mind drifted further from reality. Showing signs of schizophrenic delusions, he spoke of hearing coded messages through the radio and obsessed over the numbers five and eight.

The fifth was the day Leslie disappeared. The eighth was the day her body was found. Stefan believed he was part of a government experiment. At his lowest point, he suspected his own mother was in on the scheme. Prison doctors had to prescribe him tranquilizers to cope. Unless he admitted to the murder of Leslie Mosead, Stefan knew he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Parole officers and psychiatrists tried to coax a confession. They offered Stefan a sex offender's treatment program that would fast-track him to parole. But Stefan refused the offer.

The psychiatrists concluded Stefan's mental instability and delusions allowed him to maintain false ideas of innocence. Sundays were once predictable for Charlotte Kishko. In the morning, she rose early and attended Mass. Afterwards, she'd buy fresh flowers and take them to her husband's grave at the Rochdale Cemetery. Stefan was always with her. Charlotte didn't drive, so he drove her around town. After the cemetery, they'd stop by a grocery store on Tweedale Street, which sold German food, reminding Charlotte of her childhood. Charlotte always maintained that they did this weekly ritual on the Sunday that Leslie Mosead was abducted. Behind her motherly warmness was a resolve tough as concrete.

Charlotte endured childhood in Nazi-occupied Slovenia, then fled the Soviet Army, set in course for England. In Rochdale, she picked up work at the Cotton Mills. It was tough work that took its toll, but she persisted. The community saw her as a kind and intelligent woman. She took pride in herself and her home, where everyone was welcomed with open arms and a glass of fortified wine. Despite her gentle disposition, Charlotte had immense inner strength. As she left court on the day of Stefan's conviction, abuse was hurled at her, but she remained firm in her belief that Stefan was innocent. Twice a month, Charlotte made the eight-hour return bus trip from Rochdale to Wakefield Prison. She would have seen Stefan more often if prison regulation allowed.

At first, the Rochdale community viewed her with sympathy, a naive mother unwilling to face the harsh truth. But it didn't take long for people to grow tired, her incessant proclamations of Stefan's innocence grated on them. Pity turned to resentment, and Charlotte was ostracised. For over a decade, Charlotte campaigned to have her son's conviction reviewed. Stonewalled by police, politicians, the Prime Minister, and even the Queen, Charlotte eventually contacted Justice, a UK-based human rights and law reform organisation. From there, she was put in touch with a Manchester solicitor named Campbell Malone. Sceptical at first, Malone was drawn to Charlotte's intensity and adamance that her son was innocent, so he agreed to look into Stefan's conviction. Malone expected that his investigation would reinforce the guilty verdict, but it wasn't long before he felt things weren't adding up.

He put together a small investigation team of two law students and a private eye. Malone also sought help from Philip Clegg, the junior counsel for Stefan's defence at trial. Clegg had lurking doubts that Stefan was guilty. While Malone's team didn't find anything that absolved Stefan, they did discover errors made during his trial. A worrying amount of circumstantial evidence was relied on as conclusive proof, and most problematic for Stefan was an inadequate effort from his own legal defence team to argue his innocence. Malone detailed his concerns in a petition urging that Stefan's case be reopened. On October 26th, 1989, the file was sent to the Home Secretary, where it languished for a year. But Malone kept pushing hard for action, and finally, his efforts paid off.

On November 26th, 1990, West Yorkshire Police Detective Superintendent Trevor Wilkinson was handed a file marked Confidential. On the front was the name Stefan Kishko. Wilkinson didn't work the Molesede murder investigation, but he knew other officers who did. He had no reason to doubt the work of his colleagues and friends. If they reached the conclusion that Stefan Kishko killed Leslie Molesede, then he must have done it. Thumbing through the documents that looked like routine stuff, a rehash of the investigation and conviction, Wilkinson conceded that the investigating police may have been heavy-handed in their approach to elicit Stefan's confession. But by that stage, there was already enough evidence pointing to Stefan as the killer.

Stefan's confession wasn't tape-recorded, only handwritten notes existed. Recording wasn't legally required in 1975 without an arrest, and Stefan had attended the police station voluntarily. His arrest came after he made his confession. A break-in questioning was the first time Stefan admitted to killing Leslie. Detective Sergeant John Ackroyd was the only officer supervising him at the time. Without a recording to prove it, Wilkinson had to take Ackroyd's word, but he had since passed away. The services of an attorney were not offered to Stefan during his questioning, but again, it was only mandatory to do so after an arrest. There were no implications Stefan was mistreated by the investigating police, and Stefan had made no formal complaint regarding his treatment.

Yet, as Wilkinson continued to read Stefan's file, he heard a faint alarm bell ring from the back of his mind. Inside the file was a statement written by Stefan's General Practitioner, Dr George de Vaz. Months prior to Leslie's murder, Stefan fractured his ankle. He was also overweight and had an awkward gait. In Dr de Vaz's opinion, it would have been near impossible for Stefan to scale the lay-by hillside dragging a child behind him, as Leslie's killer had done. Dr de Vaz was never called to give evidence at Stefan's trial. Maria Barron had also provided a statement to police. Maria owned the Continental Grocers on Tweedale Street that Charlotte and Stefan regularly visited to buy German foods.

Charlotte was adamant she and Stefan were at the store at the time Leslie was abducted. During the murder investigation, Maria actually confirmed Stefan's alibi, but investigating police told her she wouldn't be required to appear at Stefan's trial. She found it strange, but believed her statement was enough. After being told she wouldn't be needed at court, Maria went ahead with holiday plans. When Stefan's court proceedings began, the defence asked for someone from the store to testify. But Maria was now overseas. Her daughter also worked in the store, so she appeared instead. However, Maria's daughter couldn't confirm Stefan's alibi.

Maria's statement was never read in court, for reasons unknown. During the late stages of Stefan's trial, a juror informed the judge of a serious problem. When the court was adjourned for lunch, she overheard a conversation between officials. They were discussing how the defence counsel advised Stefan to plead guilty. A jury member hearing this information was considered highly prejudicial and a conflict of interest. She should have been discharged from jury duty. But she wasn't. During the time of Leslie's disappearance, two suspicious vehicles were sighted in Turf Hill Estate,

and they were also spotted parked at the layby where Leslie was found. One was a cream-coloured 1964 Vauxhall Viva, the other a turquoise Morris Minor 1000 minivan. The cars were never identified, and inquiries to find the owners ended the moment Stefan Kishko was in custody. Rochdale resident Emma Tong saw a girl in the Vauxhall Viva. She knew Leslie Moleseed by sight, and she was adamant the girl in the car was Leslie. Emma appeared at Stefan's trial. The judge accepted her as an entirely honest and careful witness. Her testimony was highly valuable in Stefan's defence, as he drove a bronze Hillman Avenger. The judge told the jury that if they believed Emma's testimony, then Stefan Kishko must be acquitted.

However, the defence weren't given Emma's statement until day one of the trial. There was no explanation why this information was not disclosed to them earlier. They were not given time to properly investigate the cream Vauxhall Viva or the turquoise Morris minivan. Stefan's legal team could have and should have sought an adjournment to conduct an investigation, but they didn't. The alarm bells were now deafening. Detective Trevor Wilkinson couldn't ignore them anymore. He compiled a small team of police officers whose integrity he trusted. They were instructed to reinvestigate Stefan Kishko's conviction. Solicitor Campbell Malone wrote to Stefan at Wakefield Prison to give him the good news, but Stefan's response was hollow.

He wrote back, I hope you and the detectives are getting somewhere. Wilkinson's team visited Rochdale. They walked to the route Leslie took from her home to Stuyup's Lane, the isolated alley where she was last seen. From there, they drove to the lay-by and scaled the hillside to the embankment. With a greater, more personal understanding of Leslie's final journey, Wilkinson and his team were ready to start re-interviewing witnesses. Emma Tong was now 82 years old, and even after a decade and a half, she was still certain a girl she saw in the Vauxhall Viva that Sunday afternoon in 1975 was Leslie Moleseed. Christopher Coverdale was the only witness to see a man and a girl on the lay-by the afternoon of October 5, 1975. His description of the girl matched Leslie Moleseed, and he described the man as plump between the ages of 30 and 35 with light brown or fair-colored hair. It wasn't a stretch to link these descriptions to Stefan Kishko. Stefan was overweight, looked older than his age, and had short brown hair.

Christopher also recalled that the man's hair was receding. Although Stefan wasn't going bald, he did have a large forehead which may have been misidentified as a receding hairline. However, Christopher also described the man on the lay-by as being about 5 foot 6 inches tall. This was the big difference to Stefan, who had a towering 6 foot 2 inch frame. Dr. David Anderson was a hormone treatment specialist. Stefan was referred to him in late 1975, suffering from hypogonadism. Dr. Anderson prescribed Stefan primotestin, a drug containing testosterone, supplied via injections every three weeks. The prosecution argued that these injections resulted in overly aggressive and sexual behaviour, leading to Leslie Moleseed's murder. But Dr. Anderson had spoken to both the prosecution and defence prior to Stefan's trial. He explained that Stefan's medication only exacerbated existing aggressive tendencies, it did not create them, and Stefan was widely regarded as a gentle giant. A statement by Dr. Anderson was read out at Stefan's trial, but it was not called to testify.

He believed this was because his views didn't serve either side. The prosecution argued the drugs turned Stefan into a sex-crazed murderer, and that was an argument that suited the defence as it diminished Stefan's responsibility. But Dr. Anderson's evidence proved them both wrong. Days before Leslie's abduction, on the night of Friday, October 3, 1975, an indecent exposure incident near the Kingsway Park Youth Club was reported to police. In his first, since redacted confession, Stefan told police he was the man exposing himself to children that night. However, there was another explanation for this event. Morris Helm was out driving on the night of October 3rd, when he urgently needed to urinate. It was late, so his options were limited.

He pulled over and searched for somewhere private to relieve himself, believing the empty and shadowy parklands were ideal. Several girls stumbled across him. They saw his penis and ran away shrieking. Thinking no one would believe the truth, Morris ran to his vehicle and left the scene. When a similar incident was linked to Stefan Kishko, Morris worried that it was actually his incident that Stefan was being blamed for. Swallowing his fear and embarrassment, Morris went to the police. They took a statement, but it was never mentioned in Stefan's trial. There were large discrepancies between Morris Helm's statement and the young witnesses. The girls involved made the situation sound alarming.

A man leapt out in front of them, dropped his pants, exposed his penis and threatened something along the lines of, come here and let me ram this up to you. Was the incident a simple misunderstanding? Or a threatening sexual assault? Determined to find out, Wilkinson's team tracked down the girls involved. Catherine Burke was now 31 years old. Wilkinson's team were shocked when she openly admitted she lied in 1975. Catherine never saw a man expose himself and never heard a threat.

Pamela Hine was now 33 years old. Pamela had also lied. She admitted she did not see the man's penis. She was only told about it. She said she got carried away and went along with the other girls. Reflecting on the untruthful account she gave police in 1975, Pamela said, It was foolish, but we were young and it was a confusing situation. Pamela's false statement to police about the incident was read out in Stefan's trial. It appeared Morris Helm's statement was true. The girls just stumbled across him urinating. Stefan Kishko had nothing to do with the youth club incident.

Wilkinson's team were keen to investigate the other indecent exposure allegation made against Stefan Kishko. There was the incident involving Maxine Buckley, who became the star witness for the prosecution in Kishko's trial. She positively identified Stefan as the man who exposed himself to her and a friend in Vavasor Street on October 4th 1975. She stated he appeared in front of them, opened his coat, exposed his genitals, then ran away. Wilkinson's team now had serious doubts about Maxine's story. She described a man wearing a green parka, but Stefan didn't own a green parka. She said the man took off running, but Stefan couldn't run due to his ankle injury, awkward gait and lack of fitness. Maxine never spoke with Wilkinson's team, so they couldn't get to the bottom of her story.

Wilkinson's team then intricately picked apart Stefan's confession. Stefan had stated some facts that were only known to the most senior detectives working the case. This included unusual details such as no occurrence of rape, Leslie's attacker ejaculated on the outside of her underwear, and the murder weapon was wiped clean on her body. Yet, a woman was overheard discussing these confidential facts in a public place while Leslie's murder investigation was still underway. The leak was traced to her husband, a Rochdale police officer. Worse still, he was not even assigned to the case, so if he knew the details, others would have known as well. Stefan's interrogation lasted two days before he confessed.

Stefan was asked hundreds of questions regarding the murder, and there's a very likely possibility he shaped his confession on details police revealed in their questioning. When he came across information he didn't know, Stefan would say his memory was hazy. Other details, he actually had completely wrong. Stefan confessed he went hazy and stabbed Leslie in the neck, but Leslie's 12 wounds were centralized in her back. The smoking gun that put Stefan Kishko at the crime scene was written on a piece of paper. Police had found it in the glove box of his car. Stefan recorded the registration number of a vehicle that had passed the lay by around the time of Leslie's abduction. The registration number was on a list of other registration numbers Stefan had written down, but this one stood out because it was written in red ink.

ADK 539L Stefan couldn't explain why he'd written this registration number down, but he could explain all of the others. The original investigators believed he'd written it down because he saw it pass the lay by while he was there with Leslie. Wilkinson's team found the person who owned the car in 1975. They offered nothing new, confirming they had driven past the lay by around the time Leslie was abducted. But Wilkinson's team went a step further. They found the previous owner of the vehicle, and this person proved crucial. The previous owner often parked in the same lot Stefan used for work,

and Stefan said he recorded registration details of vehicles that bothered him. Maybe this vehicle had bothered Stefan in his work parking lot, and he recorded the registration plate long before the murder of Leslie Moleseed. Wilkinson's team had revealed a number of failings in Stefan's trial. There were errors and discrepancies, and vital information when ignored, uninvestigated, or inadequately defended. Keen to take advantage of DNA testing advancements, Wilkinson wanted to say if Stefan was a DNA match to the semen on Leslie Moleseed's clothes. Testing like this didn't exist in the 1970s, and the result would make or break Stefan's case. Prior to trial, the semen found at the crime scene was determined to have come from an infertile man, and due to his hypogonadism, Stefan Kishko was infertile.

Clothing Leslie Moleseed wore the day of her murder was destroyed in 1985, however samples of the semen were placed on five microscopic slides. Wilkinson's team visited the lab where the samples were stored, only to find that they were missing. Wilkinson's hopes of conducting a DNA comparison were dashed. They had one avenue left though, to sift through all the files and data from the original forensic tests to try and find something worthwhile. While studying the data, they found a handwritten note on the edge of a page. The note stated the semen sample from the crime scene had a positive H sperm count. Although positive H is linked to infertility, those with positive H still have sperm, even if the count is very low. Yet, testing proved Stefan had a sperm count of zero.

Ronald Outeridge was the lead forensic scientist for the Moleseed murder investigation. Now retired, he agreed to meet with Wilkinson. When asked about the positive H sperm count in the sample from the crime scene, Outeridge became defensive. The data also showed that forensics had collected 14 microscopic slides of Stefan's semen sample. It was clear his samples had been examined thoroughly and repeatedly, and each test proved his sperm count was zero. Wilkinson believed Outeridge was urged by the original investigators to keep testing Stefan's semen to try and find a trace of sperm. That's why there were so many samples. When Outeridge failed, he simply stated the sample from the crime scene was from an infertile man, and Stefan was an infertile man.

It wasn't a lie, but it was a deception. The semen sample from the crime scene was linked to infertility, but it still had a sperm count. Stefan's sperm count was zero. Outeridge denied the allegation he was deceptive with the result. Wilkinson pressed him on other forensic evidence connecting Stefan to the crime scene. Specifically, fibres found on Leslie's clothing that matched the carpet in Stefan's car. Outeridge admitted the fibres were not unique, and other foreign fibres found on Leslie's body were not linked to Stefan or his car. Also, the pen found at the crime scene that matched pens used at Stefan's workplace was a standard common felt-tip pen.

There were no distinguishing features to prove it belonged to Stefan. Wilkinson's team compiled a 50-page report of their investigation, cross-referencing three large volumes of statements. They were convinced that not only did Stefan Kishko receive an unfair trial, but he was not Leslie Moleseed's killer. Based on the evidence, he should never have been charged. An innocent man was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Leslie Moleseed's killer was still at large. In February 1992, a judicial investigation into Stefan Kishko's conviction began. Three judges listened to arguments for and against Stefan's guilt.

When the defense presented Wilkinson's new evidence, the prosecution didn't argue any of it. The judges reached the decision the following day. Lord Chief Justice Lane, quote, It has been shown that this man cannot produce sperm. This man cannot have been the person responsible for ejaculating over the girls' knickers and skirt, and consequently cannot have been the murderer. Justice Lane ordered Stefan Kishko's immediate release from custody. He had been in prison for 16 years. Stefan's solicitor Campbell Malone recalled the moment, quote,

When I sat in court listening to the judgment, it was a uniquely emotional experience. I've never felt it before or since. Stefan received no apology or expression of regret from any solicitors, investigators or witnesses whose actions led to his conviction. West Yorkshire police admitted they were wrong, but defended the position they took in 1975. Stefan's defense team said that if the evidence found after his imprisonment was known at trial, the outcome would have been different. Two days after the verdict, Stefan Kishko fronted the press. He embraced his mother before the cameras and said, My mother had been great. She had been very supportive. That was very important to me.

I did not want to lose her because of the crime of which I was convicted. Mum had given me every confidence. Stefan spoke of the years in prison, referring to them as hell, quote, It's been a nightmare situation to be honest. Prisons been very difficult. The whole situation in the police station was a very difficult one. It's been intolerable. I agree towards the police, the way they handled all of it, because they should never have arrested me. They should have arrested the right person.

I always believed in my own innocence. I didn't lose faith that I would be acquitted. I always believed the courts would come on my side. I had faith in British justice. I still have that faith. They just wanted somebody to go down as a mud. Hey, I was framed because the detectives told me to get it wrapped up in time for Christmas. Stefan remained in hospital for psychiatric treatment. 12 weeks later, he was able to return home for the first time in 16 years. His room had been kept just as he had left it.

Hundreds of letters from supporters around the world were waiting for him. On April 14, 1993, Charlotte Kishko's tireless campaigning for her son was formally recognised. She was awarded Rochdale Woman of the Year. The BBC interviewed Stefan shortly after his release. He told them he was enjoying sleeping in and catching up with old friends. He wanted to get married, visit Australia and America, and to get on with life as best as he could. A claim for compensation was lodged on Stefan's behalf, and he was awarded £500,000. Pleased to have her son back home, Charlotte knew Stefan would never be the same.

He needed to be medicated for the mental illness he developed in prison. Despite Stefan's plans to travel the world, he became a recluse who showed little interest in anything. Frequent attention from well-wishers frightened him, and he rarely ventured out. He'd sit in silence by the window for hours. A visiting psychiatrist stated, It is hard to comprehend the enormity of what this man has been subjected to through wrongful conviction. Aside from the normal distress that anyone experiences through the deprivation of liberty for 16 years, he had been the subject of two serious assaults early in his sentence and has developed the most crippling of mental illnesses.

Schizophrenia. In October 1993, Stefan was diagnosed with angina, severe chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to his heart. On the night of December 21st 1993, Stefan kissed his mother goodnight and went to his room. Minutes later, Charlotte was startled by a thumping crash. She rushed to Stefan's bedroom where she found him pale and motionless on the floor, striking a pillow under his head, Charlotte whispered his name over and over. He didn't respond. An ambulance rushed Stefan to Rochdale Infirmary, but it was too late.

Stefan Kishko died of a heart attack at age 41, less than two years since his release from prison. Steve Panta of the Manchester Evening News visited Charlotte the day after Stefan's death. Despite her sadness, she greeted him with warmth. Charlotte told him, quote, There are certain people I cannot forgive for the way they treated my son. There is one police officer in particular who would not only have the jailing of an innocent man on his conscience, but this as well. The police took him away three days before Christmas and now, three days before Christmas again, God has taken him. At least Stefan will go to his grave with his name cleared and having some freedom again.

On January 5, 1994, Stefan Kishko was laid to rest alongside his father's grave in Rochdale Cemetery. Father William O'Connor spoke at the funeral, quote, The world has failed Stefan, but there will be no more pain, no more suffering for him now. Stefan died before receiving the £500,000 awarded in compensation for his wrongful conviction. Four months later, Charlotte Kishko died suddenly. Those who knew her well believed she kept illness at bay whilst campaigning for her son's innocence, but with him gone, she lost her will to live. Her grave reads, A loving wife and a very devoted mother. The compensation money owed for Stefan's wrongful imprisonment was never paid to anyone.

In July 1994, the lead investigators in the Leslie Mosead murder investigation, former Chief Superintendent Jack Dibb, Detective Superintendent Dick Holland and lead forensic scientist Ronald Outeridge were formally charged with suppressing evidence in the case against Stefan Kishko. By this time, both Dick Holland and Ronald Outeridge were retired and Jack Dibb had died. Holland and Outeridge blamed all wrongdoing on the deceased, Jack Dibb. With the passage of time and the loss of vital exhibits and documents, it was determined the charges against Holland and Outeridge be stayed. The case was never presented before a jury. No one was ever held accountable for Stefan Kishko's botched investigation, unfair trial or false imprisonment. Detective Superintendent Trevor Wilkinson headed the new investigation into the murder of Leslie Mosead. They came across the notes of Detective Sergeant David Paxton, who was part of the original investigation in 1975.

Paxton had interviewed a man from Toddmadden, a market town in West Yorkshire, about 20km northeast of Rochdale. The man's name was Raymond Hewlett, and he'd had a previous conviction for a sex offence against a minor. On the morning of September 19, 1972, Hewlett tricked a 12-year-old neighbour into his car. He drove her to an isolated road where he pushed a turpentine-soaked rag to her face. She lost consciousness and awoke naked on the back seat. Hewlett threatened to hunt her down and kill her if she ever told anyone. In January 1973, he played guilty to rape and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was released after 12.

What drew Detective Paxton to Hewlett was that he once owned a Morris Minor 1000 minivan. On November 7, 1975, one month after Leslie Mosead's murder, Paxton caught up with Hewlett, who had just been arrested for theft. Hewlett denied any involvement in the abduction or murder of Leslie. He admitted once owning a blue Morris Minor 1000 minivan, but said he had since swapped it for another vehicle. When Stefan Kishko was arrested for Leslie's murder, Detective Paxton indicated he was unhappy having to end his inquiry with Raymond Hewlett. Three years later, Hewlett attacked a 14-year-old girl as she was home alone. He pointed a gun and ordered her to an upstairs bedroom. She warned Hewlett her friends would do over any minute, and it this caused Hewlett to give up on his plan.

He threatened her to keep quiet, but she reported the attack. Hewlett pled guilty and was sentenced to four years, but he only served 16 months before being released. A decade later, Hewlett kidnapped another 14-year-old girl at Knife Point with the intention to rape her. However, he prematurely ejaculated onto her jeans, cutting his plans short. He forced the girl into the boot of his car and abandoned her at a quarry. He was sentenced to six years for kidnapping and indecent assault. Within two years, he was granted home leave, which he absconded and went on the run. Hewlett was spotted and arrested in September 1991.

He was in the company of a woman and her three children. The nine-year-old daughter told police Hewlett had been indecently assaulting her. He was returned to prison. After Stefan Kishko's exoneration, Hewlett was questioned again about Leslie Mosead's murder. He answered every question, no reply. This carried on for several days before police conceded Hewlett would give them nothing. On November 6, 1992, Hewlett completed his sentence and was immediately arrested for the murder of Leslie Mosead upon his release.

The arrest didn't work either. After four days of unsuccessful interrogation, they were forced to release him. Hewlett offered an open hand to an investigating officer and said, No hard feelings. Hewlett fled overseas, remarried and had six children. They lived a nomadic life in the back of a van travelling throughout France, Spain and Portugal. Hewlett died of throat cancer in 2010. By the year 2000, Leslie Mosead's killer remained unidentified.

The West Yorkshire Police set up a cold case review team under the leadership of Detective Chief Superintendent Max McLean. A new forensic examination of the evidence retained from the 1975 crime scene began. The five microscopic slides that held the suspect's semen sample were still missing. But several pieces of cellotape were found in the evidence boxes. They were immediately tested. And to their surprise, two pieces of the tape were found to hold traces of seminal fluid. On the day Leslie's body was found, forensic officers cellotaped her clothes to pick up any fibres before they blew away in the wind. The tape was later stored away and forgotten until now.

The two pieces of tape containing seminal fluid had enough genetic material for scientists in the year 2000 to complete a full DNA profile of Leslie's killer. If there were any lingering doubts about Stefan Kishko, they were now gone. The DNA proved beyond any doubt he was not Leslie's killer. The DNA profile was compared to known suspects. Members of Leslie's immediate family were ruled out, so was convicted pedophile Raymond Hewlett. Some wondered if the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe could have been responsible, but the DNA proved he wasn't. In fact, the DNA didn't match anyone.

It belonged to a man completely unknown to police. Later, Detective McLean made a television appeal on BBC crime program CrimeWatch. He revealed new DNA evidence had been obtained and urged Rochdale's community to come forward with names of people they suspect murdered Leslie, including those who may have since passed away. It may be that someone has harboured a suspicion for 27 years that a friend, relative or acquaintance could have killed this little girl. We now have the ability, through the development of scientific methods, to eliminate these people once and for all. It is an extremely simple procedure, which involves us taking a mouth swab. We have already eliminated 300 people and are continuing to work through our list of suspects.

It could be a husband, boyfriend, partner or brother. There are simple scientific tests we can undertake to determine whether they are responsible for her death. I want to stress to people that it is impossible for Steph and Kishko to have been involved in this crime. Get that image out of your mind. He was not the killer. The appeal resulted in 250 calls to police, allowing a list of 90 new suspects to be compiled. All were investigated, but there was no match. Years went by and still no match for the DNA entered the police database. On October 1st, 2005, police received a call from a hotel room in Oldham, 8.5km southeast of Rochdale.

The caller was a distressed woman. When police arrived, she told them she was a sex worker. Her client was 51-year-old Ronald Castree. When the pair went to the room, he went back on their agreement. She wouldn't consent to what Castree now wanted. So he raped her. Castree denied the allegation. He was arrested, but the charges were later dropped.

Nevertheless, he had been arrested for a sex crime. New laws required him to submit a routine mouth swap for DNA analysis. Castree's DNA was placed in the National Database. It was a direct hit to the profile of Leslie Mulseed's killer. Ronald Castree was born in 1953 in Littleborough, a small town within the borough of Rochdale. By the early 70s, he was married to Beverly. They settled in a house on Oldham Road, situated on the eastern edge of Turf Hill Estate. At the time, Castree worked as an administration clerk and a part-time taxi driver.

The marriage was unhappy. Beverly recalled Castree was foul with his mouth and foul with his fists. Weeks after their wedding, he punched her in the face for the first time. He also derived sexual pleasure from violence and acts of bondage she found degrading. He made her dress up like a schoolgirl and he'd pretend to molest her. When Beverly refused his demands, Castree turned to sex workers. On September 19, 1975, Beverly gave birth to a son. The biological father was a man with whom she'd been having an affair.

Castree knew he was not the child's father and it caused tension in the relationship. Nevertheless, he agreed to raise the child as his own. On October 3, 1975, Beverly was admitted to Rochdale Infirmary suffering deep vein thrombosis. Days later, on October 5th, Castree left his home around midday to visit his wife in hospital. He arrived late that afternoon. When he left home, he was only a few streets away from Stuyreps Lane. The last place Leslie Mosey was seen alive. Nearly nine months later, Castree was arrested for the indecent assault of nine-year-old Sarah,

whom he had come across playing tag with a friend on Vavasor Street. The attack that was detailed at the beginning of this episode. Castree played guilty and received a 50-pound fine as punishment. Just over two years later, Castree struck again. This time, he abducted a seven-year-old boy and took him to an unused garage. During the ordeal, the boy screamed. Someone overheard and intervened. Castree was arrested, charged, pled guilty, and again received just a 50-pound fine as punishment.

It was 31 years after the murder of Leslie Mosey that police pulled up to the front of Castree's council-owned house. It was November 1, 2006. Hello, I'm DC 1762 Jeff Dunn from West Yorkshire Police. I've just warned you now that everything that we say is being tape-recorded. I've had it. I've got one. Are you Ronald Charles Edward Castree? I am. Right, listen very carefully to what I've got to say to you now.

You were under arrest for the murder of Leslie Susan Mosey. You're joking. Between 12 noon on Sunday, the 5th of October 1975 and 4,645 a.m. on Wednesday 8th of October 1975. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand the caution? Yes, I understand because your arrest is necessary for the prompt and effective investigation of the offence. Okay, you're going to be taken from here to Halifax Police Station now.

It's ridiculous. On October 22, 2007, the trial of Ronald Castree for the murder of Leslie Mosey began at Bradford Crown Court. Castree could not explain why his DNA was at Leslie's crime scene. The evidence suggested cross-contamination may have occurred. They also took advantage of Stefan Kishko's previous conviction for the crime and put forth the idea that Castree was also being set up by police. During his trial, Castree boasted of having numerous affairs during his marriage. He said he regularly had sex in the back of his taxi with one night's dance. Castree's defence hinted, but never directly argued, that Leslie may have been a passenger in the taxi and Castree's semen from a previous liaison transferred from the seat to Leslie's underwear.

Retired forensic scientist Ronald Outeridge was called to Castree's trial. Outeridge was involved in the semen sample testing back in 1975, leading to the incorrect conviction of Stefan Kishko. Outeridge spoke in Castree's defence. He maintained the man who left semen on Leslie's underwear may not have been her killer. Outeridge never afforded Stefan Kishko this same possibility. Castree's defence labelled convicted pedophile Raymond Hewlett as Leslie's killer. The prosecution argued Castree lived on the same turf hill estate as Leslie. He had no solid alibi for the time of her abduction.

He had a history of snatching children off local streets for the purpose of sexually assaulting them. They believed his wife, having the child of another man, may have been a trigger for Castree. Furthermore, Christopher Coverdale's eyewitness testimony of the man with the girl on the labire, bore a striking resemblance to Ronald Castree in 1975. Between the ages of 30 and 35 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall, plump with fair hair that was receding. A forensic expert explained to the court how the DNA taken from Leslie's underwear was a direct match to Castree, and the chance it belonged to anyone else was one in a billion. On November 12, 2007, after 11 hours and 38 minutes of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict.

Ronald Castree was found guilty for the murder of Leslie Moleseed. He was given life, with a minimum of 30 years. Judge Open Shore quote, This was a truly dreadful crime. Leslie Moleseed was only 11. She was vulnerable, not just because of her age, but because of her learning difficulties. You approached her. You would have had no difficulty in luring her away, for she was trusting. You repeatedly stabbed her. You left her for dead, drove back to Rochdale, and carried on with the rest of your life, as if nothing had happened. It was a pretense you kept up for 32 years. Your past is now caught up with you.

You then kept quiet while an entirely innocent man was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced for her murder. He served 16 years before his conviction was set aside, living only a couple of years after his release. I am surely entitled to take into account not only the effect on Mr Kishko's family, but also the effect on the family of your victim. They have had to endure long years of uncertainty, and after his release, come to terms with the knowledge that the guilty man was still at large. I have no doubt that the memory of this dreadful murder is, and always will be, a burden they must endure for the rest of their lives. As Castry was taken from the court, he attempted to address the judge, who snapped back. No, you have had your say. Leslie's mother, April, read a statement outside of court.

Quote, We are relieved that after so long our quest for justice for Leslie is now over. It has been a long and harrowing ordeal, and our gratitude to the friends, family, and strangers throughout the world who have given us their support is immense. Solicitor Campbell Malone spent most of the 1980s working to have Stefan Kishko released from prison. He had this to say regarding the outcome of Ronald Castry's trial. I welcome with some relief the conviction of Ronald Castry for the murder of Leslie Mosead, as bringing to a proper end to over 32 years of tragedy. I hope that it will bring some much deserved peace of mind to Leslie's family, and I applaud their determination to seek justice on her behalf. After Stefan's early death, some 18 months after his release from prison, his mother's last words to me were not to let the public forget his name and what had happened to him.

And I have no doubt she would be quietly pleased with the outcome of this trial. So appalling was Stefan's ordeal that I suspect he would have been made physically sick by having to relive those experiences. But I am sure he too would have been pleased to have seen a just conclusion to what was one of the worst ever miscarriages of justice. The cases are a reminder why such miscarriages, although rare, are important to us all. Not only is grief prolonged for the victim of the crime and their families, but the perpetrators can be free to commit further offences, thereby ruining other lives. Those of the wrongly convicted are also, in my experience, permanently damaged, and as in Stefan's case, often cut short. At last, the person responsible for this brutal murder has been identified, and Kastri is guilty of not just the murder of Leslie Mulsied, but of causing the prolonged misery of her family and the simple destruction of the life of Stefan Kishko. Others involved in the arrest and prosecution of Stefan may also have had a share in the latter, but at least in helping clear his name and in securing this verdict.

The West Yorkshire police have shown a commitment to seeing that justice is done at last. April Mulsied stated the greatest thing for her since Kastri's conviction was the fact she was finally able to sleep through the night without having bad dreams. After the conviction, the Mulsieds held a private get-together with supporters at the local pub. They put on music by Leslie's idols, Scottish pop band The Bay City Rollers. They turned up the song Bye Bye Baby, and her family took to the dance floor. The circle around the family widened as more people stepped in. They held each other and sang the words loud, to say goodbye to their baby. The Mulsieds