What are some lesser-known UK true crime cases which didn’t get as much media coverage?

Posted by magnolia_lily@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 30 comments

I'm doing some research into the kind of crime stories (murders/missing people mostly) which didn't appear to get as much media coverage as they probably should have, or have simply been lost to time due to a lack of updates etc. One that im looking into is the disappearance of Alex Sloley, a teenager who disappeared in London in 2008 and has never been heard from since. Interested to hear other people's suggestions as, given the nature of the subject, there are probably loads out there I haven't come across.

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jdsuperman@reddit

Alex Sloley was involved in county lines drug stuff and a friend reported he'd been living in a crack den and getting up to all sorts. Apparently the police are pretty sure what happened to him - the same thing that usually happens to people in his position sooner or later - but they just haven't been able to get anyone to come forward and confirm it.

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lamestaff@reddit

I find it strange that his mom didn’t report him missing for weeks, despite him not returning home for weeks

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

Yes, I’m aware of this. But he was also legally a child, and in many of these cases young people are exploited by gangs for their own benefit. Imo, it doesn’t make his case less worthy of being solved

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jdsuperman@reddit

Oh yes, absolutely - it would bring a lot of closure to his family if his body was found and his killer(s) could be apprehended. I didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

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Lotus_flower_girl@reddit

I saw a video last night on yt about a granny getting bumped off by school boys who ran back to school afterwards. I've never seen it anywhere else before

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Illustrious-Berry375@reddit

Murder/Suicide not far from where I was living at the time, didn’t get a whole heap of coverage.

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mEmotep@reddit

I don't know if a crime was committed but Patricia Finnie who went missing in Southend in (I think) 2017.

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

Looks like there probably was, reading this https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24523248.southend-patricia-finnie-disappearance-investigation-update/

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DazzleBMoney@reddit

Even nowadays the media can be very biased on the amount of coverage such cases receive based on the profile of the victim. Those of working class and/or minority ethnic background, regardless of whether the victim had a criminal history of not, are fares likely to receive the same media attention that a white/middle class victim would

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thrrowaway4obreasons@reddit

No idea why you’re getting downvoted for this when there has been many cases of this. Most famously I can remember was Shannon Matthews.

Yes she wasn’t actually kidnapped and the parents were to blame. But the way this case was treated, alongside the McCanns a short while before was horrible. One a middle class, well off family, doctors. Compared to some council estate scrotes (ultimately they were scum and this term was used at the time).

In reality, the parents of Shannon knew exactly where their daughter was. She was never in real danger. The McCanns on the other hand…

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

Karen Matthews is a bad example as it's just an anomaly of a case. What's so sad is that what Matthews did probably reinforced some biases some may have that people from council estates are ultimately "wrong 'uns" which is just so harmful.

Compare the McCann case however to the story of baby Ames Glover who vanished - likely kidnapped - in 1990. His Wikipedia page is a brief 300 word entry, whereas Madeleine's has more than 12,000 words. And I bet you haven't heard Ames' name.

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BessieBighead@reddit

The murder of Keith Burgess remains unsolved. His body was discovered in his Bristol flat in December 1989 by a neighbour - he had sustained horrific injuries but there was no forced entry to his flat implying he'd let his killer in. He was in his 30s, had been described by friends as quiet and well liked.

Sadly, the few reports on the case seem preoccupied with the victim's sexuality. The police did release a photo fit of a potential suspect but nothing ever came of it.

I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly, but I have a memory that a photo album was missing from his flat after the murder, which is bizarre and chilling.

Good luck with your research. I'm sure there are lots of examples of under reported cases, this one just springs to mind for me.

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

Thanks for this. Reminds me of the murder of Russell Marsom. People preoccupied with his sexuality, too

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BessieBighead@reddit

Bloody hell, that's horrible. His poor family x

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Shoddy-Computer2377@reddit

Derrick Bird.

Happened around the same time as Raoul Moat yet nobody seems to remember it.

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ThePineappleSeahorse@reddit

I remember that and watching live reports as they came in. It still upsets me when I think of “The Pigeon Lady” and her poor twin sister who was left behind and the Father of young children who was killed while cutting a hedge. The whole thing was unimaginably horrific but those two particularly stick in my mind.

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

I remember this well, it was terrifying

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waftgray67@reddit

Anything relating to the BBC…

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OwineeniwO@reddit

Paula Hounslea https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-18454876 sadly I don't think exposure can do much to solve this one.

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magnolia_lily@reddit (OP)

Holy cow, that’s an awful story. That poor woman.

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