Murder of Leanne Tiernan

Who is Murder of Leanne Tiernan?

The murder of Leanne Tiernan was a high-profile English child abduction and murder involving a schoolgirl who was abducted less than one mile from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas shopping trip in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and subsequently murdered. The missing persons inquiry which followed was one of the largest in the history of West Yorkshire Police, involving the search of around 1,750 buildings, underwater searches of thirty-two drainage wells, the draining of a two mile section of canal and the halting of household waste collections. Her body was discovered on 20 August 2001 in dense woodland just 50 yards from a busy car park at Lindley Woods near Otley, on the border of North and West Yorkshire. Post mortem examination indicated that Tiernan's body had only been at the woodland site for a matter of weeks, and had been stored in a cold, dry place for the previous nine months. Following the discovery of her body, DNA samples were taken from 200 people, including family, friends and known sex offenders living in the area. Forensic evidence led police to her killer, John Taylor, who lived only 1,300 yards from Tiernan's home. On 8 July 2002 Taylor pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to her kidnap and murder and received two life sentences, with the trial judge telling him that he should expect to spend the rest of his life in prison. At the end of his trial, the police officers who brought him to justice spoke of their belief that he may have been responsible for other unsolved murders, including the 1992 murder of Bradford prostitute Yvonne Fitt.