The Murder of Leanne Tiernan
Warning, this case does discuss the topics of murder, crimes against a child and sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 9 episode 13, titled ‘Making the Collar.’
A 16-year-old girl disappears on her way home from Christmas shopping.
Background
Leanne Tiernan was born on September 27, 1984. Leanne lived in Leeds, England with her mom and sister. Leanne was described as a good student, and attended school at West Leeds High School.
Sadly, there’s not a lot of information about Leanne’s life, but from home videos on this episode she seemed very happy and funny.
Leanne Tiernan
The Disappearance
On November 26, 2000, Leanne was coming back from shopping with her friend. Leanne had decided not to take the bus, and instead took a shortcut through a wooded area called Houghley Gill. Leanne’s mom, Sharon, had told her to never go through the area at night.
Sharon said she became nervous when Leanne didn’t return home when she was supposed to. Leanne’s loved ones went looking for her, and called the police around 7pm, when there was no sign of her.
The West Yorkshire Police searched through thousands of home in the area. There was no sign of Leanne, and no evidence connected to her.
The Discovery
A TV program recreated the walk that Leanne would’ve taken to get home. Leanne’s sister, Michelle, wore the same clothes that Leanne had worn. Leanne was last seen wearing black pants, a blue and white polo shirt, a blue jacket and boots.
After the TV program aired, a witness came forward to say they had seen a man walking his black and tan dog in Houghley Gill on several occasions. The police were able to narrow their search down to around 70 people that had dogs in the area. But, these people were ruled out as being involved.
On August 20, 2001, a man found what looked like a trash pile in Lindley Woods. The area was about 16 miles from where Leanne was last seen.
The pile of trash was actually Leanne’s body wrapped in 9 garbage bags and a bed cover. The bags were tied with twine and a leather dog collar. The police immediately believed that Leanne had been held somewhere before being place in the woods.
Leanne’s autopsy revealed that she had been strangled. A scarf was found around her neck. Leanne’s wrists had also been bound with yellow cable ties. The police’s theory had been correct. Leanne had been kept in a freezer before she was found, as samples of her cardiac tissue were tested.
In Leanne’s hair, which was still in a ponytail, several types of pollen were found. The pollen came from a privet or hedge plant, a plum tree and a poplar tree. There was evidence that at some point, Leanne had been near a bonfire.
Lindley Park
The Evidence
The numbers found on the yellow cable ties led the police to the British Postal system. These cable ties had either been used by the Royal Mail or Parcel Force, which both had a few thousand employees.
The green garbage bags that Leanne had been wrapped in came from a well known grocery store chain. Two of these stores were near Leanne’s home, so the police believed that the killer had lived near the stores too.
On the bags, bed cover and Leanne’s clothes, the police found red carpet fibers. The fibers were twisted and dyed in a certain way. There were also hairs from a black and tan dog, which matched what the witness had told the police.
A leather dog collar had been used to wrap the garbage bags. The specific collar had been manufactured in Nottingham, England, and was sold to hundreds of stores. One of these stores gave the police access to the records of customers who had purchased items online. One name stood out to the police. The man’s name was John Taylor, and he was from Leeds.
John was in his 40s, divorced, and had two grown children. He worked for a division of the Royal Mail, was living alone at the time that Leanne had disappeared. John’s neighbors said he had a dark side, and would go out at night to hunt. He was known to be cruel to animals, and would meet women through newspaper ads.
The police spoke to several women who had history with John. They all said he enjoyed violent sex, and liked to bind their hands with cable ties and put items, like scarfs over their faces. It seemed to all match what had happened to Leanne.
A Violent Man
The police searched John’s home. At first, the police were surprised that John didn’t have a dog or any red carpet in his house. Upon further inspection, the police discovered that John had stripped the carpet and floorboards. Some red fibers had been found stuck to some nails.
The police also found the same type of garbage bags wrapped around a nail in John’s kitchen. It’s believed that John had scraped up against the wall as he was holding on these bags. John had the same leather dog collars and type of twine in his home.
In John’s backyard, the police made another shocking discovery when the yard was excavated. The police found the corpse of a black and tan Terrier. The hairs were tested and revealed to be similar to the hairs that had been found on Leanne. John also had a privet and poplar tree in his yard.
John Taylor was arrested and charged with murder. He claimed that he had abducted Leanne, but said her death was an accident. John said Leanne had fallen, but there was no evidence of any kind of fall. John also couldn't explain why Leanne had injuries from being strangled, or why her hands were bound with the cable ties.
A Possible Serial Killer
On February 15, 2002, John was found guilty of murder and kidnapping Leanne. He was sentenced to 2 life terms. The sentence was later changed to 20 years.
Fourteen years before Leanne was killed, John had sexually assaulted a woman in the same wooded area. The biological evidence that had been collected was a match to John.
In 2018, John was sentenced to a life order for other possible crimes and sexual assaults. He has denied being involved in any other crimes.
The police are looking into whether or not John killed several other people. The youngest victim being just 13-years-old.
John Taylor
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s clear that John is a very dangerous person and should never be released. Leanne was only 16, and had her whole life ahead of her. John was probably out that night and waiting for someone to abduct. Thank God John left behind so much evidence behind, and the police were able to solve the case. I hope he left behind evidence at his other possible crimes because these people all deserve justice too.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Leanne_Tiernan
https://forensictales.com/murder-of-leanne-tiernan/
https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/john-taylor-killer-in-the-woods
https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/taylor-john.htm
