Hebden Bridge Web

Lindsay Rimer 21 years on: sister Juliet speaks for the first time.

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

Since the HebWeb started in the summer of 1995, one story has been covered again and again - the unsolved murder of Lindsay Rimer.

It's a dark shadow which continues to hang over our town.

Lindsay Rimer's younger sister has spoken publicly for the first time, 21 years to the day after Lindsay's body was found, at the bottom of the canal.

The last known sighting of Lindsay Rimer was at just after 10.22pm on 7th November 1994 at the Spar shop on Crown Street.

Juliet Rimer speaks out

In a further bid to help catch the killer or killers of Lindsay, her younger sister, Juliet Rimer has now spoken very movingly on camera about growing up without her.

Juliet Rimer on camera

Juliet was only a baby at the time Lindsay went missing. It is the first time she has spoken publicly about growing up not knowing the sister she should have had, and the impact of Lindsay's murder and the ordeal of the last 20 years has had on her and her family. She was close to tears during the emotional video.

She said, "There will always be a void. I have no memories of her of my own; everything is from photographs, stories and the media. It is heartbreaking to watch your family break down every year, knowing there is nothing you can do but be there for them.

"When I turned 13, it was like everyone closed ranks around me, in an effort to protect me from the world, as if the same thing might happen.

"A piece of everyone's soul is missing and I often wonder how our lives would have been, if we were not a 'broken' family. The advice Lindsay would have given me, the fights we might have had, and the things we may have shared.

"Not knowing what happened is the worst part. You walk down the street and wonder, ‘Was it them? Do you know something?’ Getting the answers wouldn’t change the hurt but it would help bring closure to us all."

Press conference

The HebWeb, along with other members of the media, was invited to a press conference on Friday, 8 April at the Town Hall. Lindsay Rimer's mother, Geri Rimer, answered questions. "My little girl deserves justice. We live in a complete state of turmoil, not just on anniversaries but everyday. I need to know what happened to my daughter. She didn't deserve to die."

Detective Superintendant Simon Atkinson and Geri Rimer

Detective Superintendant Simon Atkinson said the police have a determination to get justice and won't close the case until they do. He revealed that after last year's appeal, someone came forward who had been on the video of Lindsay buying cornflakes at the Spa supermarket, and hadn't previously been identified.

New leads

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET) is leading the investigation. He said, "We did a massive round of publicity on the 20th anniversary of Lindsay's body being found last year and that helped generate some important leads that we are following up.

New forensic leads

At the press conference, Det Sup Atkinson revealed that there was some DNA but so far they haven't been able to make use of it. When asked where it was from, he replied that "it was part of the investigation."

"We have been working with a forensic provider in Canada who has generated some new forensic leads which we hope may lead to the identification of Lindsay’s killer.

"Over two decades have passed since Lindsay went missing and despite the passage of time publicity like this really does help. When we appealed on the 20^th anniversary of Lindsay’s disappearance we found someone who was on the CCTV clip we released of Lindsay buying the cornflakes who we previously hadn't managed to speak to.

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson urges anyone who has not yet felt they could come forward over the last 21 years, but may now feel they can, to make that call.

"We are, however, still waiting for that one 'golden nugget' of information that will finally crack the case and bring closure to Lindsay's grieving family.

"Anyone who watches the short clip of Juliet’s interview will be moved by what she has to say. It is clear that growing up in a family that has suffered such a traumatic event, that the pain and anguish still runs deep. Nothing will ever completely erase the memory, or restore normality, but bringing Lindsay's killer to justice will at least bring some closure and answers to her family.

"Someone somewhere knows what happened to Lindsay and I am appealing again, directly, to that person to come forward and help me crack the case. Twenty one years is a long time. People may have moved away from the area over that time, and may now live in other towns and cities - Did you live in Hebden Bridge or the surrounding area in 1994? Were you socialising, working or living locally and did you not come forward before, because you were not sure of the significance of what you may have seen?

“People's allegiances may also have changed - perhaps you harboured suspicions about someone back then, but didn't feel you could come forward. Or perhaps you saw something back on the night Lindsay disappeared in November 1994 whilst walking your dog, or looking out of a window, but didn’t think it was important.

"I would once again, urge anyone who has not yet felt they could come forward over the last 21 years, but may now feel they can, to make that call. The information you have, not matter how small it may seem in isolation, could well be the piece of the jigsaw that finally helps us bring justice for Lindsay and her family.

"For 21 years the family have had to live with the pain and the hurt of not knowing what happened to her as her killer continues to enjoy their freedom. Lindsay would have had her 35th birthday this year. Unfortunately, she was never able to grow up and live a full and happy life. Her family continue to feel the void in her absence, and still desperately want and deserve answers about what happened.

"The person, or persons responsible for Lindsay's murder, and concealing her body in a watery grave do not deserve protection. They deserve only to be brought to justice."

Timeline - Lindsay's last known movements

On November 7 1994, Lindsay left her home on Cambridge Street, Hebden Bridge, to go to the shops.

Lindsay Rimer buying cornflakes at the Spa

She paused briefly at the Trades Club on Holme Street where she met her mum before moving on to Crown Street.

On Crown Street she went into the Spa Shop and CCTV from the store (released by police in November 2014 - see above).

Det Supt Atkinson added: "All we know is that Lindsay's body was found five months later on Wednesday April 12, 1995, with the ultimate indignity to her and to her family that her body was left to rot in a watery grave.

"Someone prepared to do this doesn't deserve any protection. It is time they were brought to justice."

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call detectives directly on 01924 334604. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.