(Image: Archive)
POLICE have issued a fresh appeal for information to help solve the murder of a man who was stabbed to death at his home in York 30 years ago tomorrow.
Geoffrey Leeming, 63, died after being attacked in his own garage in Linley Avenue, Haxby, on October 9, 1996.
The murderer escaped from the quiet cul-de-sac area without a trace and has never been found.
North Yorkshire Police said its cold case review unit is “actively reviewing the case, including both the scientific and witness evidence gathered during the investigation”.
A police officer outside the house in Haxby where Geoffrey Leeming was murdered in 1996 (Image: Archive)
“Advances in forensic science mean we are now able to examine and consider evidence in ways that were not possible at the time, or even 10 years ago,” a police spokesperson said.
“We also recognise that, with the passage of time, people’s circumstances and allegiances can change. Someone who may not have felt able to speak to police previously may now feel differently, and we would urge them to come forward.
“Anyone who has information or knowledge about Geoffrey’s death, no matter how insignificant they may believe it to be, is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and ask for a message to be passed to the Cold Case Review Unit, or email ColdCaseReviewUnit@northyorkshire.police.uk.”
Former Det Chief Insp John Lacy pictured in 1997 with the murder weapon outside the garage where Geoffrey Leeming was murdered (Image: Archive)
Geoffrey, a retired soldier, entered his garage between 7.30 and 8pm where he was attacked by an unknown assailant.
Geoffrey was repeatedly stabbed with coroners revealing he died from a fatal stab wound to the heart.
While this was happening, Geoffrey’s unassuming wife, Jackie, was in the living room watching Coronation Street which gave the murder its nickname - the 'Coronation Street' killing.
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Later, Jackie, her daughter, Jayne, and son, Stephen, were arrested and charged with conspiring to kill Geoffrey, but the charges were thrown out before it could get to the crown court by stipendiary magistrate Guy Hodgson.
He said the police and prosecutors who brought the trio to court did so on the basis of "suspicions" only - and had no real evidence.
Stephen and Jayne Leeming return to the house in Lindley Avenue, Haxby, with mother Jackie as the Court resumes at the scene of Geoffrey Leeming's murder (Image: Archive)
He said he had come to the conclusion that after hours of investigation the police still did not know who killed Geoffrey and had arrived at court with "nothing apart from a theory, but with nothing to support their supposition”, adding: "The police are no nearer solving the investigation than they were at the beginning.
“The prosecution cannot, in my mind, establish by the evidence that there is a reasonable possibility the family were conspirators.”
No other suspects in the case have since surfaced.
Jackie made an emotional appeal for people to help police catch the killer but told The Press in 1997 how local residents were pointing the finger at her and her family in a whispering campaign without any foundation.
She died in 2005, aged 62, after a long battle against cancer.