Eighteen-year-old Natalie McLean lived with her mother and younger brother in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, England. As she had been having trouble with other girls in the neighborhood bullying her, Natalie made the decision to move out on her own in early 1995. She stayed in a homeless shelter for a brief time, but eventually got her own flat on Calve Croft Road.
On Saturday, April 15th, 1995, Natalie was spotted at the Piccadilly 21 Club in the Manchester city center. She was accompanied by a man whose identity is still a mystery. This was to be the last sighting of Natalie alive.
Five days later, Natalie’s mother Bernadette became slightly concerned that she hadn’t heard from her daughter for several days, and went to her flat to check on her. As it was around Easter, she even brought a chocolate egg to give her.
Horrifically, though, Bernadette was confronted with Natalie’s body lying face down in the living room. It was clear she had been dead for some time, and had been partially eaten by her dog. A post-mortem revealed the cause of death as numerous stab wounds in her neck, back, and stomach.
Not long after the murder, a man was arrested and questioned but was eventually released without charge due to lack of evidence. Many years later, in 2014, this same man was convicted of a brutal sexual assault, and authorities hope that DNA advances will help them to link this later crime to the killing of Natalie McLean.
As of this writing in September of 2024, however, the investigation remains open and unsolved.
Crime Immemorial 