The South Yorkshire Cold Case Team investigates crimes from the 1960s

Some of South Yorkshire Police’s most notorious ‘unsolved cases’ have been solved thanks to the diligence of a team of detectives who came out of retirement to investigate these cases.

The Major Incident Review Team uses modern technology such as DNA analysis to re-examine crimes from the 1960s in the hope of achieving a conviction.

The scope of work mainly involves cases of sexual assault, but there are also high-profile murder cases, such as the murder of Rotherham schoolgirl Anne Dunwell in 1964.

Dave Stopford heads the unit, which consists of part-time investigators who have returned to work after leaving the police force.

Although the team also includes more recent investigations that did not result in charges being brought after 28 days, their daily bread is cases that are decades old.

Mr Stopford said: “I work with a team who have left the police perhaps after 30 years and are still quite young and have a lot to give, so are coming out of retirement.

“I needed people who had detective skills, training and had worked on cases involving sexual crimes or murder in the past.

“I’ve also handled murder and kidnapping cases, so we all know what’s required in these investigations.”

In the 1960s, police officers did not have access to DNA testing, video surveillance, facial recognition technology and other forensic techniques.

DNA traces from sex offenders led to samples that produced a match decades later.

Raymond Ellis attacked a 17-year-old girl in Sheffield in 1987 – and thought he had gotten away with his crimes for almost 40 years.

Ellis hit his victim on the head before tying her up and sexually assaulting her as she walked home after a night on the town.

There are 35 unsolved murders in this area, including that of 13-year-old Anne Dunwell, who was strangled with her own stockings and sexually assaulted in the mining town of Maltby.

A more recent murder case occurred in 2001, when Wath-upon-Dearne resident Brian Metcalfe was found murdered after a night of drinking in local pubs. Mr Stopford led a new appeal on the 20th anniversary of the 43-year-old’s death, telling the public that officers believed the answer to the mystery lay “within the local community”.

Mr Stopford said there were problems with old evidence from the 1960s and 1970s because some items had been contaminated before DNA testing methods were used.

“Before DNA was used in investigations, evidence was not handled as carefully. As a result, cross-contamination from the investigator, the officers at the crime scene and even the scientists is more common,” he explained.

In cases dating back 50 years, suspects and witnesses have often died, but Mr Stopford’s team can still provide evidence or samples in court that can bring justice to a victim or their family.

In some cases, victims do not wish to support a reinvestigation because their circumstances have changed.

“It is rare that we can move forward without the support of a victim,” added Mr Stopford.

Suspects can only be prosecuted under the laws in force at the time the crime was committed, and in some cases the pathological evidence is insufficient to support a murder charge.

Anyone wishing to report past serious sexual offences should contact police at [email protected].