A cold case review has been held by detectives into the unsolved murder of prostitute Janine Downes whose battered body was found in a Shropshire lay-by 18 years ago today.

On the anniversary of 22-year-old Janine’s death police confirmed that officers had looked again at the file on the brutal killing. Detectives have taken into account any advances in scientific procedures since the time of the murder.

This includes DNA technology.

Officers have also looked closely at statements and evidence in the case. They have spoken again to witnesses and also contacted people who may not have been seen during the original investigation. 

A West Mercia police spokeswoman said today that all major unsolved crimes were subject to periodic reviews by the force. 

“Members of the West Mercia police major crime review team have looked at the case throughout last year. No unsolved major crime investigation is ever closed and further reviews will be subject to any advances in DNA procedures or in the light of new evidence,” she said. 

The identity of Janine’s killer has remained a mystery since her half-naked body was found on February 2, 1991, concealed by a hedge in a lay-by near Lambert’s Restaurant on the A464 Shifnal to Wolverhampton road.

Janine, from Wolverhampton, was just 5ft tall and weighed less than 8st. 

She had been strangled with a ligature and suffered extensive head wounds caused by a jagged-edged weapon. She had also been sexually assaulted.

She was wearing only a paisley pattern blouse, a bra and blue ankle socks. Her other clothes – white trainers, jeans, and a black shell-suit top with a yellow stripe bearing the words Nike International – have never been found. 

Marks on the frosty ground indicated where Janine had been dragged and a pathologist estimated her body had been dumped  between midnight and 4am.

No motive has ever been established for her murder, although one theory was that Janine had information about the murder of another prostitute, 23-year-old Gail Whitehouse, the previous year. There have been regular links with other prostitute killings across the country in recent years.

By Arthur Mills