An investigation into the deaths of two 11-year-olds murdered in Merseyside 36 years ago has been re-opened after new evidence emerged.
Best friends John Greenwood and Gary Miller were beaten and buried alive on a rubbish tip in Whiston in August 1980. A dog walker found the schoolfriends at about 19.20 BST at the site of a disused colliery on Pottery Lane, which is now Stadt Moers Park. Both died later in hospital and post mortems revealed they had suffered head injuries.
A man was tried for their murders in 1981, but found not guilty.
Detectives have now made a fresh appeal for information after national newspaper The Sunday Times uncovered new witnesses.
Speaking on behalf of both families John Greenwood’s sister Deborah Lewis said: “Losing the boys in such an horrific way was devastating for both families and has been heartbreaking to cope with.
“The original police investigation was very flawed – mistakes were made and we were let down.”
“The fact that no-one has been convicted for their murders has made it so much harder.”
“For 36 years we have lived with the frustration and the fear that we could be sitting next to their killer on a bus, or walking past them on the street.”
“The murder of a child in a family causes so much pain to everyone, the very least we deserve is to find the evil person that did this and put them behind bars.”
She urged “those who know the truth to speak up.”
“They were two little boys who went out to play and they never came home… search your consciences and ask yourself: what if it was my child, or grandchild?” she said.
“Both the Greenwoods and the Millers are united in their fight for justice and we are supported by family and friends and local people.”
Ms Lewis thanked investigative reporter Josh Boswell, whom she said had researched the case and given police the information he uncovered for a Sunday Times investigation.
She said the moment a police officer “took her seriously” and told her they would look into the case again, she “started crying”.
Det Ch St Paul Richardson, said Merseyside Police were “committed to helping the family try to get the justice they deserve..”
He said as a result of the new information, investigators were “particularly interested in talking to anyone who may have seen a man with three young boys, aged between 12 and 14 years, near to the church hall on Dragon Lane, Whiston, between 18.45 BST and 19.20 BST on Saturday 16 August 1980.”
“Two of the boys who were seen with the man were stood on the wall of the church hall and one was in the grounds of the church hall. Were you one of the three boys?”, he said.
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