Marion Alcock

Marion Alcock was found dead in a large wheelie bin.

The pathologist confirmed that she died from head injuries. She was also said to have had neck injuries.

Her partly-clothed body was found in the wheelie bin in an alleyway at the rear of houses in Oxford Gardens on 18 June 1994. Her handbag was later found in Fairfield Court about 200 yards away.

Her body was found by a group of six teenage girls that had been camping in a back garden in the early hours of Saturday morning. They found her body at about 4am after hearing the commercial type wheelie bin being trundled down the alleyway and went to investigate.

She had been dressed only in her underwear.

They said that when they went to look that they saw a blond haired man running away from the scene. He was described as:

• White.
• Sallow complexion.
• Medium build.
• 5ft 6in tall.
• Collar-length, swept-back hair.

Marion Alcock was identified after the police carried out house-to-house inquiries involving around 50 officers.

The police said that they had received a number of reports of missing wheelie bins in the Oxford Gardens area, but were still seeking information about other missing bins.

The police said that Marion Alcock had not been a known prostitute and that they were not linking her death with other recent prostitute killings. It was noted that 20-year-old Samo Paull was found dumped in Leicestershire in December 1993, 31-year-old Tracey Turner six miles away in April 1994, 18-year-old Emma Merry in May 1994 in Stoke-on-Trent and 19-year-old Dawn Shields in June 1994 in the Peak District.

Her boyfriend was later accused of moving her body after she was killed but nothing is known of how she came to die or who was responsible.

Her boyfriend was charged with preventing the South Staffordshire coroner from holding an inquest on Marion Alcock. It was alleged that he had moved her body, she having died violently, unnaturally or suddenly, from her place of death at 173 Sandon Road, and that he did it with intent to obstruct the coroner. However, he was later cleared of the charges.

He had also faced two charges of stealing £250 from a building society account belonging to her.

Although her boyfriend had been charged with preventing or obstructing the coroner holding an inquest, the police said that they were still treating Marion Alcock's death as murder, the same as it was on day one.

The police also appealed for a man seen in the alley close to the junction with Hopton Steet between 11pm and midnight on the day the body was found to get in touch. He was described as:

• White.
• Average build.
• Average height.

The police said that they thought that he might have vital information.

Marion Alcock had two children. She was formerly of Harrowby Street in Stafford and was estranged from her husband since the beginning of May 1994. The police said that she had not been seen since she left Harrowby and that they were trying to find out where she had been living in the previous seven weeks, although it was believed that she had remained in the Stafford area.

Marion Alcock was described as:

• White.
• 5ft 3in tall.
• Medium build.
• Dark hair.