In 2009, thirty-seven-year-old Paula Hounslea was having something of a rough time. She was suffering from poor health in general and bipolar disorder in particular, and though she had worked as a seamstress and a bartender in the past, she was unemployed at this juncture in her life. She lived in West Derby, Liverpool, England, with her daughter Lois, who was then around eighteen years old.
On the evening of August 21st, 2009, Paula had gone to dinner with family at a local Chinese restaurant; they dropped her off at home after the meal. The following morning, Paula allegedly told her daughter that she was going to be staying with her friend Vicky for the next few days. Paula also purportedly sent Lois a text message repeating this information. Oddly, though, Vicky also received a text from Paula’s phone, in which Paula told her that she was going to be away for several days. Later investigation demonstrated that Paula had paid for a hotel room for the night of August 22nd, but never arrived to check in.
Family members began to worry when Paula failed to call her parents as she usually did daily, and when it was discovered that Vicky also did not know where Paula was. It seemed that Paula’s phone had attempted to call Vicky at some point after Paula disappeared, but the call was not connected due to a technical issue. Vicky, Paula’s parents, and Paula’s sister called Paula’s phone numerous times, but the calls all went to voicemail.
Perhaps suspiciously, none of the eventual 176 phone calls were from Paula’s daughter Lois, and authorities also noted that a sum of 850 pounds had been withdrawn from Paula’s bank account not long after she went missing; only Paula and Lois knew the PIN number.
More than three years later, in May of 2012, Paula Hounslea’s body was discovered by a dog walker in an old fire pit near a cycle path in Fazakerley, Liverpool. It was believed that the remains had been deposited there between September of 2011 and January of 2012, though the exact time of death couldn’t be established with certainty. The only items found alongside the body were an eight-inch kitchen knife and some melted blue plastic.
A month after Paula’s remains were found, her daughter Lois and Lois’s boyfriend Kevin Kavanagh were arrested on suspicion of murder, though both were released on bail the following day. After a lengthy investigation, Lois and Kevin were freed without charge in August of 2013 due to lack of evidence.
Perhaps significantly, Lois was twice summoned to inquests concerning her mother’s death, but failed to show up either time due to complications from her asthma, which she was hospitalized for. Kevin Kavanagh did appear, but refused to answer any questions posed to him.
According to police, the inquiry into the murder of Paula Hounslea remains open.
Crime Immemorial 