Published on 04 May 2022
Sunderland academic Liz Lamb has featured in television documentary charting the unsolved murder case of a County Durham woman.
Titled ‘The Mysterious Murder of Ann Heron’, the Channel 5 documentary which aired this week, featured evidence, interviews, and accounts about one of the UK’s most mysterious unsolved crimes.
One of those interviews included Liz, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, at the University of Sunderland, who covered the case while working as a court reporter at the Northern Echo.
“Aged 14, I was interviewed by police as a potential witness in the Ann Heron murder case. On the day of the murder, I saw a blue car, driven by a man, leaving the murder victim’s house at speed,”, explains Liz, who has worked as a journalist for regional publications including The Chronicle, Journal, and the Sunday Sun.
“Fast forward a few years, and I ended up covering her widower Peter Heron’s court hearing at Teesside Crown Court when he was charged with Ann’s murder. The case was dropped a few months later.
“The documentary team were interested in my links with the case, both as a witness and a journalist, and I spent a day filming with them in January, which was a great experience. The case has always fascinated me, and I was keen to help put the investigation back into the spotlight, in the hope that Ann’s killer will be finally brought to justice.”
Part-time care assistant Ann Heron was murdered at her home in Darlington by an unidentified killer on August 3, 1990. To this day, the case remains unsolved, and many people have theories about how she came to her death.
Within the documentary, Channel 5 have confirmed that they have interviews with Ann’s widower, Peter Heron, who was charged with her murder in 2005, but the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.
In the description for ‘The Mysterious Murder of Ann Heron’, the show is described as: “The shocking story behind one of the UK's most mysterious unsolved crimes, as Peter Heron himself gives his version of the events surrounding his wife Ann's death in 1990.
“As the documentary explores the events of August 1990 in detail, new potential evidence comes to light.”
Ahead of the screening of the programme, Durham Police has issued a statement setting out their desire to convict someone for the Darlington woman’s murder and were keeping an “open mind” about the investigation.
A Durham Constabulary spokesman said: “The murder of Ann Heron has been thoroughly investigated and subject to constant review over the last 32 years, including the use of new investigative techniques with the advancement of forensic technology.
“It is still the ambition of Durham Constabulary to convict the person responsible for Ann’s murder.
“At this time there is no new evidence that identifies new suspects, but we remain openminded and committed.”