Twenty-year-old Deborah Wood spent the evening of January 4th, 1996 having drinks with her father and a few friends at Big Lil’s pub in Leeds, England. At around nine-thirty p.m., she left the establishment alone and then disappeared.
No trace of her was discovered for more than a week. Then, on January 14th, her burning body was found near Burley railway station; she had been doused in gasoline and set on fire.
An autopsy determined that Deborah had been murdered shortly after going missing, as there was still alcohol in her system. The killer had then wrapped her body in a garbage bag and kept her in cold storage for a time before dumping the remains where they were found.
Because of this very specific modus operandi, some investigators believe that Deborah may have been slain by convicted murderer John Taylor, who received a life sentence for killing sixteen-year-old Leanne Tiernan in 2000, among a number of other sex crimes. Like Deborah, Leanne was also kept frozen for a short time before her body was buried in the woods, and both victims were found wrapped in garbage bags, and then wrapped in comforters.
There are other reasons to suspect that Taylor may be responsible for the murder of Deborah Wood. For example, he lived only ten minutes away from the Burley railway station where the burning body was discovered. Further, witnesses have claimed that John Taylor used to frequent Big Lil’s pub, and had a reputation as a creep who would often bother women. Finally, a necklace was found in Taylor’s possession that Deborah’s family believes belonged to her.
Taylor was later linked to two more murders, those of sex workers Donna Healey and Yvonne Fitts, occurring in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Yvonne’s body, significantly, was found buried only about one hundred yards from where Deborah’s body was discovered four years later.
Deborah’s brother Craig Wood took to the media in late 2023 to beg authorities to reopen the case, as he claims the police investigation at the time of the murder left much to be desired. As of this April of 2024, however, there have been no new updates.
Crime Immemorial 