Today, Ipswich is paying tribute to the life of a young mother who was stabbed to death in front of her toddler daughter 30 years ago.
Darkness had fallen when Karen Hales' parents, Graham and Geraldine, arrived at her home in Lavenham Road, Ipswich, at about 4.40pm on Sunday, November 21.
Her partner, Peter Ruffles, had left the couple’s home to go to work less than an hour previously, at 3.50pm.
The door, Karen’s parents noticed, was unlocked. Inside, they discovered their daughter’s body lying in the kitchen.
Karen, who was just 21 and worked as a shop assistant, had been stabbed multiple times. The killer had then attempted to set her body alight.
Beside Karen was her 18-month-old daughter, Emily, who had witnessed her mother’s brutal murder. She was uninjured but has since spoken out about the effect her mother’s murder has had on her, saying she thinks about her mother “every day”.
Karen’s killer has never been found.
Despite 30 years having passed, Karen’s family have never given up hope of one day seeing her killer brought to justice, and have appealed many times over the years for anyone with any information to come forward.
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown is Head of the Major Investigation Team at Suffolk Constabulary.
He said: “30 years may have passed, but we have not given up hope of catching Karen’s killer.
“On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of her murder five years ago, the senior investigating officer in the case at the time sat alongside members of Karen’s family and together they appealed for anyone with any information to come forward.
“That appeal resulted in a number of calls and messages being received into our incident room, some of which provided fresh information that had not previously been known to the inquiry.
“These leads were pursued but unfortunately were not able to provide a breakthrough in the case.
“We continue to believe that somebody out there knows who is responsible for Karen’s murder and my message to them is that it is never too late to come forward. Any information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Unsolved Case Team on 01953 423819, or by emailing unsolvedcasereviews@norfolk.pnn.police.uk
Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: www.crimestoppers-uk.org
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