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Who Killed Allan Graham? 11-Year-Old Boy, Who Was Sent To Corner Store For Cigarettes, Found Strangled To Death In Ditch 46 Years Ago – New Forensic Technique Could Crack Cold Case

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 23:30 PST, Mar 27, 2016

Investigators are working diligently to find out who killed 11-year-old Allan Graham, who was found in a watery ditch after he was sent to the corner store to buy cigarettes 46 years ago, reported Chronicle Live.

On January 25, 1970, Graham – who lived with his mother Mary Wells in Gateshead, located in England – had been visiting one of his brothers, Dennis Baron, now 71, in Benwell, Newcastle when he left the domicile to go to a local store, but when he failed to return, his family reported him missing.

The young lad’s body was found by a farm worker a day after his disappearance in Throckley, dumped in a water-filled ditch. It was later determined that he was abducted from a Newcastle street as he was on his way to the store for cigarettes before he was strangled to death. Although Newcastle police officials conducted a manhunt following Graham’s murder, no suspects have been arrested.

Sources say that Graham was playing with a friend, Dave Bryson, on the day of his disappearance, and Newcastle police officials recently obtained a statement from Bryson, who distinctly remembers a van pulling up to the them as they were outside playing and the driver – who was a man that appeared to be in his mid-20’s – asked Graham to get in.

According to the Brief Report, Bryson stated that the man inside of the dark, blue van was “slim build, and with dark hair, combed back-over with a greasy product like Brylcream,” and spoke with a Geordie accent. Although the information provided was indispensable and could have helped solved the cold case, the murdered victim’s friend was never asked to give a statement at the time of Graham’s murder. However, it was all in vain now as investigators were unable to catch the suspect in question.

For 46 years, the murder of Allan Graham went unsolved, but police officials are now hoping that pioneering forensic technique will help solve the cold case. Detective Chief Insp Fairlamb has been working on the case, who has had the police department’s “forensic experts re-examine all the material that has been retained since 1970 to identify any new forensic techniques that could be used on them.”

He added, “We are reviewing it as we do with all undetected murders, regardless of when they occurred. It was a huge inquiry in 1970. It lasted six or seven months and there were hundreds of people interviewed and thousands of statements taken.”

“But 1970 and 2016 are poles apart in how we investigate. So we are reviewing what was done then, and what we could do now – it just needs some fresh eyes. We never stop investigating as we could get some new intelligence and we will always look at it.”

“We want to speak to members of the old inquiry team as they are witnesses in the case as well as members of the public,” said Fairlamb. “We have got a number of meetings in the next few weeks. The case is actively being worked on and we will see how far we get.”

After the murdered victim’s brother learned that a new forensic technique that could help crack the cold case, he remains optimistic that they will discover who killed Allan Graham. He says, “I am feeling really positive. There could just be one bit of information that is the missing piece of the jigsaw that makes everything fall into place.”

“New techniques are always pushing the boundaries of evidence gathering. It would be brilliant if we could give Fred and his family some closure,” said Fairlamb.

The hunt for 11-year-old Allan Graham’s killer is still underway. However, it is asked that if anyone has any information regarding the child’s murder, they are urged to contact Northumbria Police.

[Image via Getty Images/David McNew ]

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