Two Men Charged With Abduction And Murder Of Nicola Payne In 1991

[Abroad]

Two men have been charged with abducting and murdering 18-year-old Nicola Payne who went missing 23 years ago, police said.

Nigel Barwell, 51, from Copperas Street, Coventry, and Thomas O'Reilly, 50, from Ribble Road, Coventry, have been remanded in custody.

[...]

A 52-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice has been released without charge.

Ms Payne, who had a seven-month-son, went missing after she walked from her boyfriend's address to her parents' house. Her father has said the walk should only have taken about six minutes.

Ms Payne's body has never been found.

In the years since she went missing, her parents John and Marilyn Payne have made appeals for information to trace their daughter.

The investigation was re-opened in 2012 when new information came to light.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-31006969

 

[Abroad]

Two men have denied murdering 18-year-old Nicola Payne, who vanished more than 23 years ago.

Nigel Barwell, 50, of Copperas Street, Coventry and Thomas O'Reilly, 50, of Ribble Road, Coventry, entered not guilty pleas at Birmingham Crown Court.

Despite searches of several areas, Ms Payne's body has never been found.

There have been three police investigations since Ms Payne's disappearance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32428717

 

[Abroad]

A lake is being searched as part of investigations into the disappearance of Nicola Payne, who went missing more than 23 years ago.

West Midlands Police launched the search at Coombe Abbey Country Park, in Coventry, after a preliminary sonar examination by Home Office scientists.

Shallow water searches in the park will resume after further analysis, police said.

The force said it requested the initial Home Office examination of the area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32445204

 

[Abroad]

Two men have been cleared of murdering 18-year-old mother Nicola Payne nearly 24 years ago.

Nigel Barwell and his brother-in-law, Thomas O'Reilly, both 51, were found not guilty by a unanimous jury at Birmingham Crown Court.

Ms Payne's parents Marilyn and John were in court each day of the five-week trial but Mrs Payne said she did not have the strength to be in the room for the verdict.

As the jury returned their not guilty verdicts Mr Payne sat with his eyes closed, while the defendants' families were in tears.

Mr Barwell, of Coventry, punched the air and then mouthed "Thank you very much" towards the jury, while Mr O'Reilly, also from Coventry, stood in silence.

Mr and Mrs Payne said they felt "terrible guilt" they had still not found their daughter and made a public appeal for any information that could help them lay her to rest.

The families of Mr Barwell and Mr O'Reilly, who had protested their innocence from the beginning, expressed sympathy for Ms Payne's family but said the trial had also been a "huge ordeal" for them.

The pair had been originally arrested and questioned two days after Ms Payne disappeared.

They were re-arrested and charged with her murder earlier this year, after what detectives claimed was a breakthrough with forensic evidence in the case.

Mr O'Reilly, of Ribble Road, cried as he told the trial how in 1992, he was kidnapped and blindfolded by three men, who threatened to cut off his fingers if he did not confess to the killing.

Speaking outside court, Mr Barwell's daughter said her family had suffered from "suspicion and innuendo" for 24 years and were pleased "this nightmare has finally come to an end".

"Our father and uncle always maintained from the onset of this investigation that they have had no involvement in the disappearance of Nicola Payne," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34832136