One killer is dead, the others remain free | The cases of Julie Smailes & Rachel Tough

In October 1996, firefighters in Leadgate extinguished a blaze at the home of 27-year-old Julie Smailes. Inside, she was found dead in bed - bound and stabbed over 40 times. The fire had been set to cover up her murder. Two years later, just miles away, 18-year-old Rachel Tough was found bludgeoned to death with a hammer. The man who owned the house became the prime suspect in both cases - and rumours linked him to even more local killings. After a week-long manhunt, he was found dead having hung himself. DNA would later place Thompson at the scene of Julie's murder, but police remain convinced a number of others were present and still remain at large. #unsolved #truecrime #truecrimeunsolved #uktruecrime #Consett #Leadgate #Newcastle #CountyDurham #unsolvedcrimes #unsolvedmurders #unsolvedmysteries 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:11 - The scene of a murder is discovered 00:02:38 - Julie's life 00:04:56 - Julie's movements prior to the murder 00:06:10 - The investigation gets underway 00:09:35 - 1997 begins and the investigation continues 00:14:09 - The murder of Rachel Tough 00:17:17 - New DNA testing and an arrest 00:18:58 - Could other murders be related? 00:22:08 - The investigation ramps back up 00:24:09 - A possible motive for Julie's murder 00:25:27 - Summary 00:26:59 - Outro For further information and case references, please visit: https://thecrimeportal.co.uk/19-julie... If you have information on this case, please visit: https://www.durham.police.uk/ Disclaimer: Great consideration is given to ensure that all material used within The Crime Portal videos is royalty free, falls within the guidelines of fair use, or has been authorised by the rightful owner. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent, the copyright owner of any materials used and take issue, then please send a message via The Crime Portal website so the issue can be resolved for you. Music: @co.agmusic Drone footage: @JauneMacReady Newspaper clippings provided by: https://ian-duncan.co.uk/home/