Cold Case Result

54-year-old Ronald Castree of Manchester has been jailed for life for the murder of schoolgirl Lesley Molseed more than 30 years ago.

11 year old Lesley from Rochdale was running an errand for her mother when she vanished in 1975 her body was found on the moors in West Yorkshire.

Lesley had learning difficulties so it wouldn't have been difficult to lure her awayas she was very trusting, she was sexually assaulted and stabbed 12 times during a frenzied attack.

Stefan Kiszko was wrongly convicted for the murder and spent 16 years in jail. He died soon after his release.

Castree was arrested in 2005 but not charged in connection with another sex attack, a DNA sample was taken from him then which matched semen found in lesley's underwear.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Openshaw said: "This was a truly dreadful crime. Lesley Molseed was only 11."

"You repeatedly stabbed her. You left her for dead, drove back to Rochdale and carried on with the rest of your life as if nothing had happened.

"It was a pretence you kept up for 32 years. Your past has now caught up with you."
Castree cried his innocence as he was being dragged away from the dock.

Lesley's mother, April Garrett, read a statement outside the court. She said: "We are relieved that after so long our quest for justice for Lesley is now over. "

I'm all for DNA testing in cold cases however it should be done in government crime labs with standards to follow rather than given out to the lowest public bidder as the US does.