Karen Hales

Karen Hales was stabbed and set on fire at her home in front of her 18-month-old daughter.

Two people were arrested in relation to her murder but released without charge. The first was a 20-year old man who was released two days after his arrest, and the other, a 30-year-old man who was released the day after his arrest.

She had lived all her life in Ipswich in Suffolk and lived with her fiance and daughter in Lavenham Road where they had been for a couple of years. Karen Hales and her fiance had been seeing each other for about six years.

Karen Hales had worked part time in Boots the Chemists.

Her fiance had gone out with some workmates on the night of Saturday 20 November 1993, leaving Karen Hales alone at home with their daughter.

Whilst at home alone she said she heard some noises and when she went to the door saw the door handle turn as though someone was trying to get in.

Her partner had been out at the Swan public house and when he returned Karen Hales told him that she had had a bit of a night saying that she had been sitting in the living room and that she heard a noise and that when she went to investigate she saw someone trying the door handle.

It was noted that there had been a spate of break-ins recently in the area.

The following day, Sunday 21 November 1993, her fiance went off to work at 3.50pm for a late shift at the Constantine Road bus depot in Ipswich town centre, leaving for work at 4pm leaving Karen Hales and their daughter home alone.

Karen Hales's parents went to the bus garage to see Karen Hales's fiance at about 4.15pm to ask him to have a look at their car saying that the starter motor was playing up again. He said that he had asked Karen Hales if she had wanted to go over to her parents but said that she had told him that she wanted to stay at home and get some housework done. Karen Hales's mother then said that they would pop round and see her in a minute.

At about 4.30pm, by which time it was dark, two local men were taking a short cut into Lavenham Road from London Road through an alleyway when they saw a man walking towards them. One of the men said that they were going to ask the man for the time but said that they didn't get a chance because he was walking so fast.

It was noted that on the day that Karen Hales was murdered, there had been at least about two inches of snow on the ground.

The man said that all he remembered about him was that he was wearing a hooded parka jacket with grey fur around the hood.

The man was then seen to walk out into the main London Road where he was seen by a couple as they were driving home. They said that they saw him in the central reservation of some traffic lights at a pedestrian crossing and said that as they got closer to him he made a dash for it. The woman in the car said that she thought that the man was suicidal. They said that he was in an agitated state and that he was moving about for a few moments before he dashed out across the road just before their car reached the crossing. They also noted that the man had been wearing a dark parka coat with a grey trim.

The woman in the car described the man as having a slim build, with short dark hair and being about 20 to 25 years of age.

Shortly after the man in the parka coat with fur hood was seen by the couple in the car on the London Road, the two local men that had earlier seen him as they took the short cut through Lavenham Road passed Karen Hales's home in Lavenham Road and one of them said that he saw smoke coming out of it and commented on it to his friend, but his friend said that it was condensation and they continued on their way.

Shortly after, at about 4.40pm, a woman who lived locally was in Chantry Park, which was about 400 yards away from Karen Hales's house. She had gone to the park in her car with her pet Alsatian dog. She said that as she was walking about in the park, she saw a person moving about in the distance in the park. She said that he was running and bent over. She said that just as she saw him, he stopped and stared at her and she said that she thought that he was acting strangely and that he was up to no good. She described that man as wearing a blue-grey parka coat with a hood and that she thought that he was between 20 and 30 years of age.

It was noted that the various sightings of the man in the Parka jacket might have been of different people, but that either way, the man was never traced.

Around the same time that the woman who was walking her dog saw the man in the park, Karen Hales's parents reached Lavenham Road in their car. When they got to her house and knocked at the door, they found that her front door was open which they said was unusual. Then, when they opened the door, they found that the house was full of smoke and then found Karen Hales who had been stabbed several times and then set on fire. Karen Hales's daughter was found nearby in the same room but had not been injured.

The police said that they did not know the motive but noted that Karen Hales was a kind caring person with no enemies and that some items from her home had gone missing and that as such they could not rule out the possibility that it had been a burglary.

Amongst the things that had gone missing was a multi-coloured purse that was described as being quite common with a lot of them about. It was said to have had two compartments and a zip pocket inside. The police said that they were interested in hearing from anyone that might have seen one thrown away around the time in the Ipswich area.

It was also noted that a couple of knives had been taken from the kitchen. They were branded Laser knives and were wooden handled and used for general cooking and eating purposes. The police said that Karen Hales had been killed with the two knives.

It was noted that much of the DNA evidence was destroyed in the fire after Karen Hales was set on fire, but that the police later recovered a small amount of vomit on her body during a case review in 2003/4 with which they were able to reveal a partial DNA profile.

The police said that the person that murdered Karen Hales would probably have been heavily blood stained and appealed for people that noticed anyone around that time with blood stains on them to come forward.

The police also said that Karen Hales had probably opened the door to her killer and said that she was likely to have known him.

A detective chief inspector said, 'I believe that there is a very real likelihood that Karen knew the person responsible. There was no sign of forced entry to the house, there was heavy snow on the ground but there were no footprints leaving the rear of the property. Two kitchen knives were found to be missing from the house, these could well have been used to kill Karen, but they have never been found. Also, Karen's purse containing a small amount of money was missing. The motive for Karen's murder is unclear but it is likely that someone close to the killer, a friend or relative may have noticed unusual behaviour after the event'.

Psychologists later said that Karen Hales possibly knew her killer and had invited him into her home and that he might have been an acquaintance from work or someone otherwise known in her personal life.

A criminal profile of Karen Hales's killer was made up in November 1997 which stated that he was probably known to Karen Hales, was in his late 20s to mid-30s, who either lived or worked locally and who was of average intelligence. The profile also suggested that he was probably subject to sudden rages when faced with stress or even minor irritations, and who suffered serious mood swings that they said might have resulted in problems with colleagues at work. It was also said that her killer might have had mental health issues.

It was thought that her murder might have been motivated by anger and that the scene of the crime was consistent with a sudden assault because the murder weapon had been taken from the kitchen and the fire had been started with materials found in her home.

Karen Hales's funeral took place at the St Mary and St Peter Church in Barham in February 1994.