An unsolved murder case can be particularly upsetting for families and communities as they often involve questions around justice, closure and the pursuit of truth. In Kent, there is one case that has remained unsolved for nearly 80 years.
Sheila Martin lived with her family when she was reported missing in Fawkham Green on July 7, 1946. The 11-year-old was last seen playing on a swing behind her home in the afternoon.
After her family reported her disappearance, teams of villagers joined the search for her. She was later found in woodland at around midnight.
Her body was discovered half-buried under some nettles in Stony Field Wood (also known as Sun Hill Wood) in Fawkham, near Sevenoaks. The girl had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Her attacker used the ribbons from her hair to strangle her, Kent Police said. A coroner would later say that she had been the victim of a “diabolical assault”.
At the time thousands of people had been watching the motorcycle racing at Brand’s Hatch about half a mile away and it was thought Sheila had been killed during the racing. Detectives were interested in speaking to a teenager of about 16 who had been seen near the village school in Fawkham Green that Sunday.
But despite an exhaustive murder hunt that reportedly saw every man, woman and child within a three-mile radius interviewed, Sheila’s killer has never been identified. Her case is one of 46 unsolved murders that took place in Kent.
Each case has been the focus of a major police investigation, with some dating back to the pre-war era and others occurring within the past decade. Cases include many seemingly random attacks, usually on women, carried out by strangers, as well as violent robberies, gangland killings, and contract murders.