Christopher Laverack's killer was Melvyn Read, Humberside Police say
Humberside Police say they have solved the murder of nine-year-old Christopher Laverack, whose body was found in Beverley Beck in 1984.
Detectives said today he was killed by his uncle, Melvyn Christopher Read.
Read died in 2008, while serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting four boys.
Christopher went missing on March 9, 1984, after being left alone to babysit at a house in Harpham Grove, Hull.
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His body was found two days later, wrapped in a plastic carpet underlay bag weighed down by an ornamental brick. He had been sexually abused and beaten to death with a blunt object.
Read was arrested in March 2002 for sexual assaults dating back to the mid-1980s. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and died in February, 2008, at the age of 64.
Later that year, The Mail revealed Read was the prime suspect for Christopher's murder.
The identification today of Read as Christopher's killer follows an independent assessment of the strength of the case against him, carried out by Paul Watson QC.
He described the weight of evidence against Read as "conclusive".
In the wake of Read's conviction and identification as a predatory paedophile in 2003, police believed they had a case against him for Christopher's murder.
In 1984 he lived in Grantley Grove, Hull, a 10-minute walk from Harpham Grove. He owned a car that fitted the description of a vehicle seen outside Harpham Grove the night Christopher disappeared. He did not have a meaningful alibi for the night in question and he had knowledge of the site where Christopher's body was found, having worked at a Beckside factory.
Following a 2002 interview with police, he was shown to have lied about issues pivotal to the case.
He had the means and motive to commit the crime and his conviction showed that he had a propensity to harm young and adolescent boys.
In 2007, Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins launched a comprehensive review of the forensic evidence.
Palynologist Dr Patricia Wiltshire concluded there was enough unusual pollen and other plant matter on the clothes Christopher had been wearing the night he went missing to link him with the garden at Read's house in Grantley Grove.
The brick found with Christopher's body was also forensically linked to Read's garden. Detectives suspected the brick had been part of a water feature in the garden.
Det Supt Ray Higgins, who led a review of the case, said: "This has been a very complex case to solve but there can be little more important to relentlessly pursue than the murder of a child.
"Melvyn Read died in prison convicted of a number of serious child sex abuse offences. None of that sexual offending was known to the investigation team in the years immediately following the murder. Had Read not died in prison he would have been arrested for this murder following his release.
"Read was an evil man and a man wholly without remorse. I am satisfied that Christopher's family can have some sense of closure and understanding of what happened.
"This case has taken many years to resolve. We would all wish the evidence to convict were available sooner and whilst Read was still alive to face trial, however that was not to be. The few officers still working on this case, between their other duties, have been determined to do all possible to solve the case and have simply refused to give up."
Police said today Christopher's mother Pamela Cawley had "expressed her relief" at his killer being identified.
Comments
by waynecarr
Sunday, August 05 2012, 10:08PM
“that man will be locked away for a long long time.
I hope he is sorry for what he has done,,, I know he is dead, I hope he suffered with guilt and shame
I belive in the reincarnation and he will come as a worm or a slug, to be eaten by a big black bird or die an agonising death under a pile of salt.”
by Kustard2011
Saturday, August 04 2012, 7:03AM
“by Removals Hull - Local & Nationwide Removals & StorageFriday, August 03 2012, 1:59AM
"How convenient they get to close the case and blame a dead man."
Always one on here who spouts off about without engaging brain. What a dohnut !!!”
by TheEmperor
Friday, August 03 2012, 10:04PM
“"Read died in 2008, while serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting four boys."
Perhaps this should really say "Read 'died' in 2008, while serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting four boys."
If that is the case, whoever did that one should be set free.”
by Removal Man Hull - Local & Nationwide Removals & Storage
Friday, August 03 2012, 1:59AM
“How convenient they get to close the case and blame a dead man.”
by thesnooper
Thursday, August 02 2012, 1:24AM
“patsy ??????”
by melchidezek
Thursday, August 02 2012, 1:21AM
“what DOES make this case UNLIKE other abuse cases?????/?the fear ,,of ppl ,who darent talk..??
...fear from whom????see diane corr"chasing Satan"-about what was discovered when police started looking into Hulls murky world of prevalent systematic using of the vulnerable by the teflon coated.....only the christopher case started off the nationwide media menace,,and look
at hull s top brass,,chief insp alexander,,,certain lord mayors etc etc etc-all around the same era-they say there are only victims not villains....yet-the amount of blind eye turnin,,has exacerbated ppls trust issues,anxieties,,and fears of police and council corruption and collusion
these miscreants are villains!i do not subscribe to allow them victim status!they are the tools of oppression,,and mental bondage..we must stand against this unjust city always-or\ abandon it-as it has abandoned us!”
by melchidezek
Thursday, August 02 2012, 1:07AM
“if the police knew about Read in 2003,,,,and i for 1 was told before it hit HDM 2008 -about a "patsy"why not interview him in prison .......was it in the paper so that ppl ASSUMED he donnit??....THERE MUST HAVE BEEN CONCLUSIVE DNA--AND---A MATCH...yet-i await to hear why there was no mention of this...draw your own conclusions,,..”
by melchidezek
Thursday, August 02 2012, 12:58AM
“what about DNA
THEY GOT DNA-SO WHY NOT ARREST MELVYN..........
and the police were lied to about details and never acted on them....according to the origpub staff who saw the "baby sitter" in the crown pub--and ...wasnt melvyn part of a *****phile ring......his uncle....so who in the police were looking in evry other direction......”
by thesnooper
Thursday, August 02 2012, 12:46AM
“there seem to be a few sceptics here
so some food for thought.
In 2007, Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins launched a comprehensive review of the forensic evidence.
could this have included new methods for forensic tests that showed the brick and his clothes to be linked to reads garden ?
read was a suspect early on thats common knowledge and has been for years
the police at the time never knew he had committed other sexual crimes so its not just coincidence that christopher was also sexualy abused
also they intended to arrest him on release from prison
it was read alright and anyone that thinks different are just out to cause conspiracy theorys”
by NeilTheasby
Thursday, August 02 2012, 12:12AM
“If Christopher Laverack were alive today he would probably be a married man with children of his own in the very midst of life. Melvyn Read made certain that that scenario didn't happen but why oh why? We should love our fellow human beings and respect them as they, like us, seek happiness and fulfilment during life's challenging journey. To kill an innocent child is quite inhuman. Rest in peace Christopher.”