Elaine Wakefield

Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime. Today we're going to be covering a case which has been suggested by a listener which I always appreciate. The murder of twenty year old Elaine Wakefield shook the area of Buxton in Derbyshire where she lived, and the fact that her murder has never been solved is something which continues to be a tragedy for those that knew her and who still

live there. This episode contains descriptions that some listeners may find distressing, so listener discretion is advised. The High Edge Raceway is located around seven miles from the town center of Buxton. The raceway had been used as a festival ground for rock conto during the early seventies, and some big names from the time played there, such as Wizard and Slade. As the decade continued, it began to be used for its intended purpose, which was a racing ground for

stock cars. People traveled from far and wide to race the cars at High Edge and it was a very competitive but friendly group of people who were passionate about the sport. The raceway went from strength to strength in the following decades, being renamed the Buxton Raceway in nineteen ninety eight. On February the twenty seventh, nineteen eighty two, four men were walking around the High Edge Raceway. These men belonged to the East Cheshire Motocross Club, with one of them

being Bernard Gleave, chairman of the club and also a Macaelsfield counselor. They had gone to the raceway as the next day, Sunday, the twenty eighth of February, there was going to be a motocross of event called the Winter Scramble. The men wanted to check out the course and the raceway to ensure everything was going to go smoothly. As they traveled around the course, something

alongside it caught their eye. As they get closer to it, they discovered that it was the body of a woman lying face down by the side of the track. This was a horrendous and unexpected discovery which shot the four men. Her presence at the track seemed completely and utterly out of place and the police were called immediately to the scene to assess the situation. Derbyshire Police attended the raceway and they discovered that the woman was partly clothed. She was only

wearing a black bra. They discovered that clothes had been strewn around two hundred yards from her body, and it was later found that they belonged to the woman. Initially, it was difficult to ascertain what had actually happened to her. It was clear that this hadn't been a case of natural causes and that something suspicious had evidently happened. However, the scene didn't give much away. The one thing that police did know was who this victim was. The woman

was identified as twenty year old Elaine Wakefield. Elaine was originally from the village of Tunfield Milton, which was located around six miles from Buxton Town center. She lived there with her mother Anne and her stepdad John, and Elaine has always been described as boisterous and ready to enjoy her life to the fullest. One thing that was well known about Elaine was that she was a CBE radio enthusiast. CB or Citizen band radio was growing in popularity during the nineteen seventies

and early nineteen eighties. It was a way of communicating with others via a two way radio system on different channels. CBE radio was quite a popular pastime. However, it was not legalized at the twenty seven megahurt frequency until nineteen eighty one. Elaine was passionate about it and was part of CB Radio Clubs and had a call sign of ever Ready while on the air. Elaine was only twenty years old in nineteen eighty two, and she'd been trying out a

number of jobs since leaving school. She had worked as a petrol pump attendant, but at the time that Elaine's body was recovered in March, she was unemployed. She had also moved from the area of Tumfield Milton to Buxton Town Center. Buxton as a town in the High Peak area of Derbyshire and has been known historically as a spa town due to its geothermal spring, and it

rose in popularity as a place to visit during the Victorian era. In the twenty eleventh census, Buxton had a population of around twenty two thousand people. Was known that Elaine had moved to the town and had been living in a flat in West Road. Police discovered, however, that Elane was not living there alone. Up until two days before her body was found, she had been living with a man thirteen years her senior. This man was named Ken

Sweet and he was a constable in the Derbyshire Police Force. This was a crucial lead and starting point for the investigation. They also brought up some ethical issues for the Derbyshire Police. While Elane's body was removed from the scene to be analyzed for any evidence, PC Ken's Sweet was one of the first people to be spoken to about Elane's death. He told investigators that it was true that he and Elane had been having an affair, and that they had been

living together in a flat in west Road not long before her death. He explained he was married, but had decided to leave his wife and had moved in with Elane. He had believed that their relationship would work out. However, it soon became apparent that it was not working and they only lived together for nine days before Ken Sweet explained that he went back to live with his wife. Reportedly, Elaine believed that Ken was going to leave his wife to

be with her, and this is what she had hoped would happen. Ken told investigators that he had last seen Elane two days before her body was recovered on the Thursday. He said that they had had an argument about their relationship, as it had been going downhill since they'd moved in together. He stated that morning they'd argued and Elaine had asked him if he wanted to leave. He stated, I said words to the effect that it might be better.

She was unhappy because we were splitting up. Ken said that Elaine then left the flat at about two pm that day, but returned a couple of minutes later for her lighter. Ken expected that she would return again, given that she'd not say any of her clothes or her belongings, He said, he left a piece of paper across the door so he would know if she'd been back. When he returned, he knew she hadn't entered the flat as the

paper was not broken. Police therefore knew that Elaine had definitely last been seen on Thursday, the twenty fifth of February, two days before she was found murdered. What had happened in these two days and how had Elaine been killed? Police began trying to trace Elaine's movements during the time between Thursday and Saturday, and tried to find as many witnesses as they could to establish what she'd

been doing. They were aware that the raceway was used by many people for different reasons on days that there were no races on, and they also knew that Elaine had to have got out of Buxton that day in some way or another. The Derby Daily Telegraph reported on the second of March that police were quickly working under the theory that Elaine may have known her killer and may have possibly gone to the raceway Willingly. There is no specific evidence presented to indicate

why they believed this. However, they did reach out to the public, specifically courting couples who were known to visit the raceway. While police were appealing to the public for witnesses, the newspapers were reporting on the relationship between Elane and police Constable Ken's Sweet. The information that a police officer was engaged in affair with a member of the public whilst also being married created ripples in the small town of Buxton and it was of great interest to many, including in

national newspapers. He was reported in The Daily Mirror on the third of March that Ken Sweet was also a CBE radio enthusiast and he went by the name Zoomer. It was also confirmed that during their courtship, kenn had used his police car to meet up with Elane. He reportedly stated, though we never

made love in the panda, referring to the police car. There were many implications that this was of course inappropriate as someone with a responsible profession such as a police officer, and a Derbyshire Police spokesman stated that PC Kent Suite had momentarily been suspended from the force during the police investigation into Elane's murder. The spokesman said it's for his own good, he's too close to the murder inquiry. PC Swite responded to this, saying he felt rough about the suspension but

understood why it needed to be done. The police understood that Elaine had left on foot from the flat that she'd shared with PC's sweet and so they began to look for people that might have seen her along the way. The journey to the race track was around seven miles and would have taken around an hour and a quarter to walk. The police had learned that walking long distances wasn't

really unusual for Elane. At a press conference about the case on the third of March, Tom Naylor, head of the Northern Area of Derbisious CID, stated Elaine walked the whole distance and must have arrived as it was getting dark. It was not unusual for her to walk long distances. He said that several witnesses had come forward to say they'd seen her walking that afternoon and evening.

At the time that she set off walking, Elaine was wearing a brown anorak and jeans, and he confirmed that she was around five feet two inches tall. It was announced that a twenty one year old police typist named Dawn Hadfield had been tasked with reconstructing Elane's journey that day in the hope that it would jog people's memories who might have seen her. When asked about Elaine's cause

of death, the police were relatively vague at that point. They confirmed that Elaine had not suffered a violent sexual assault, but that her cause of death was unusual. This only cause further speculation about what really had happened to Elane. Superintendent Tom Naylor did suggest that she may have been traveling up that way to meet with the man. There is no indication about the evidence that could have suggested this, however, this was a theory put forward. Police did,

however, speak to four of Elane's former boyfriends. However, this line of inquiry didn't seem to yield any results. Witnesses in the area at the time did confirm that Elaine was seen walking towards High Edge that day, and it would later be reported that nine people saw her on that journey and could confirm that she was heading that way. Appeals Overseabe radio were made, and witnesses from this appeal did come forward to say that they had seen her.

Also, a lorry driver who knew Elane came forward to say he saw her walking and she waved at him. Police also tracked down information that shortly after she left the flat in West Road, she spoke to someone. It was clear from these witness statements that Elaine had left the flat and then headed pretty much straight in the direction of the raceway, but the big question was why and who did she encounter along the way. Officers did receive reports of people

who they may have wanted to eliminate from the investigation. Two of these people were seen at the raceway by a farmer about one pm that afternoon, around an hour before Elaine left the flat. These men looked suspicious to the farmer as they were hanging around and didn't seem to fit the farmer was able to give a description of them. He said both of them were around twenty five years old and they had Derbyshire accents. They were around five feet nine inches

tall. One of them had dark color length, curly hair and wore blue overalls and a black donkey jacket. The farmer said they told him they were from Chapel on the Frith, a town around six miles away from Buxton. The reason they looked suspicious was because it had reportedly been a snowy day and there was no real reason for the men to just be looking at the raceway.

The farmer said they left in a farm colored Hillman Avenger car. Chief Inspector Peter Burgess stated they said they were just having a look at the track, but it was a very snowy day and that is not the sort of place to go for no special reason. They may have been acting perfectly innocently. In that case, they should come forward so that we can eliminate them from our inquiries. As well as these men, police were interested to speak

to some joggers who were out training for a marathon that day. They believed that their route followed part of the journey that Elane took. And they hoped they would have noticed something. They were interested in one jogger in particular, who may have been close to Elane during part of the journey. He has been described as wiry, around five feet nine inches or five feet ten inches tall and between twenty eight and thirty one years old. He had short,

curly dark hair and a short dark beard. The police were also interested in some cars that had been seen in the general area around the time that Elaine had been walking. One of these was a black or brown box van which was seen by the entrance of the race track at between one and two pm. Another car which was spotted was a blue saloon car with a double stripe along the side. It was in rusty condition and had several triangular stickers in

the rear offside window. This car was seen near Buxton Cemetery about two forty pm, and the relevance was that Elaine had been seen near the car during her journey. There was also a clean red and white tractor which was seen traveling along the A five one five towards Books around two forty pm. There was also another white van which was possibly a Ford Escort, seen in another lay by at around four thirty pm. This was in a dirty condition.

There was also an orange box or chevette which had been seen in the area on multiple occasions. These vehicles were of interest because they had been seen in the area around the time that Elaine had also been there. There was a sighting of her at the racetrack around five forty five pm. This didn't mean that they were in any way involved, but that they needed to be eliminated.

There were still many unknowns about Elaine's murder, and one of the biggest questions was how exactly had she died and what did this mean about who had committed it. This was somewhat answered at several in quests which were made into Elaine's death. This had clearly been a difficult question to answer, given that

two pathologists had been tasked with completing post mortems on Elaine's body. The first had been doctor Stephen Jones and the second was another Home Office pathologist, Professor David G. David G was famous for being part of several large scale and famous investigations, including that of Moore's murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and that of the Yorkshire Ripper. By the eighth of March Derbyshire Police announced the

results of these post mortems and forensic tests. Superintendent Tom Naylor stated that Elaine had died as a result of compression of the nerve at the front of her neck. He said this is still a murder inquiry, but death may have occurred in the course of some activity, possibly love making. He added she had died very rapidly following a relatively minor episode of pressure on the neck. It therefore follows that a person with Miss Wakefield at the time may have been

taken completely by surprise by her death and panicked. It's clearly in the interests of all concerned, in particular of those of any person present at the time of death, that the matter should be resolved quickly. This information was relatively surprising given that so little had been publicized about her death. This announcement suggested that police believe that Elaine may have been going up to the raceway to meet a man and during a sexual encounter, there was pressure applied to her neck

and that was what killed her. The theory was that whoever this person was didn't intend to kill Elane and that they panicked. There was little evidence presented for why this was thought to have happened, aside from the fact that there was little pressure applied, meaning the person didn't strangle Elane. However, whether this was in the course of consensual sexual encounter seems to be more of a

hypothesis than something proven in fact. During a second inquest into Elaine's death in April, her parents Anne and her stepdad John objected to the theory that this is how Elane died. This reported that High Peak coroner Clive Rushton stated that Elaine could have died during some horseplay with another man after leaving the flat after the argument with Ken Sweet. John Ward shouted at the coroner at this point and said horseplay never, you're misleading the jury and we don't see why we

should leave. The couple were scarted out of the courtroom as a result of this outburst. It's clear that emotions were running high, and quite understandably for Elaine's parents. Doctor Stephen Jones told the inquest that Elaine had died as a result of compression of the nerve at the front of her neck, which had caused a heart attack and slight asphyxia. When he was asked by the coroner if this could have been caused by horseplay rather than being caused by intent.

Doctor Jones stated they were consistent with momentary pressure, certainly not performed with intent to harm. He also confirmed that there was no evidence of violent sexual assault, or actually any sexual activity at all just prior to her death. The coroner ruled an open verdict in Elaine's case, meaning there wasn't enough evidence to prove what exactly had happened, and that there were questions needing more investigation.

He did seem to believe, however, that this was not an intentional murder, and that the person who committed it had panicked and left her there. He said, there are things about this case that do not add up. There was almost certainly a sexual encounter. A girl in her distressed condition might have been easy prey for someone looking for some sort of casual encounter. We can envisage circumstances is during preliminarily sexual play, when his or her hand could

have trapped against her neck. He also said that this person should come forward and that this was maybe not as serious as they previously thought it would be. The police will be saved a great deal of work. It will end the torment, which I'm sure the person is suffering from his own conscience, and above all, it will lift the cloud of suspicion which lies on Elaine's

friends and associates and people that were in the area at the time. Elaine's stepdad was spoken to after the open verdict and he said, I'm happier now I know the search will go on. I am convinced she was killed by a local man and I will go on searching for him forever. The inquest and the investigations clearly taking its toll on Elaine's family, and the grief that

they were feeling was evident just reading these newspaper reports. Elaine's funeral was held on the twentieth of March nineteen eighty two at Townend Church in Chapel on the Fris. It reported that there was a hundred people packed into the Methodist church and there was a carpet of flowers in the graveyard along with a wooden cross with the inscription Elane. The grief of Elaine's family was palpable, and many of the people who ere Lane knew from the CBE radio community attended her funeral.

Murder investigators were also amongst the crowds. There was a notable absence, and that was ken Sweet. Since the investigation had begun, he had been suspended from the police force due to his proximity to Elane. In fact, in the middle of April that year, he decided to resign from the police force after eleven years as an officer. A spokesman from Derbyshire Police didn't elaborate

and said that this was a confidential matter. In an article from the Derby Daily Telegraph on the twenty sixth of April, ken Sweet explained, the cloud of suspicion is never going to be lifted until somebody has been sorted out. I have told police my theory. It differs a little from what was said at the inquest. This is an intriguing comment as this hasn't been elaborated on. If ken Sweet's theory differs, in what way did he know and tell

the police something that hasn't been published. By the end of March nineteen eighty two, Superintendent Tom Naylor explained that they had done a very thorough investigation into Elaine's murder, saying they'd made twelve hundred inquiries and taken seven hundred and thirty seven statements since the start. He stated, as far as he's known at the moment, none of her known associates are the people who are at the

raceway had anything to do with her death. Since Elaine's murder, there has been little published about it, and after April nineteen eighty two, the newspaper reports drop off completely, with no further information being reported for many years. That was until two thousand and three, when it was reported that the case was going to be reopened. An article in the Independent newspaper explained that the reinvestigation once again spoke to people close to the case and some had given DNA

samples. Was also reported that new samples from bodily fluids found at the murder scene were being analyzed and that new suspects were being obtained by the investigation. The samples were sent to the Forensic Science Service and it was hoped that new

information could be found from things that were previously unable to be analyzed. This reportedly produced new lines of inquiry, and in two thousand and three, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Cotterill said that he believed Elaine was murdered despite the open verdict. At the time, this seemed positive. However, after this point nothing more has been published, and I assume that these lines of inquiries did not lead anywhere. However, having some DNA on file from these samples was a

big step forward. The inquest ruled an open verdict and not a murder. However, investigators clearly did believe that this was a murder, both in nineteen eighty two and two thousand and three, whether it was committed intentionally or it was an accident. There are so many odd aspects of the case, and many that don't make sense. The things that stand out to me are why

was a Lane walking to the raceway that day? It was known that she walked long distances, but did she plan to go there or was she just walking off the anger from the argument that she'd just had. We know she did walk the journey because many people saw her that day, including people that knew her personally. The farmer at the raceway thought it was odd that those two people were there and found its suspicious as it had been snowing. Wouldn't

this be the same for us Lane? Why would she choose to meet someone there for a sexual encounter in such inclement conditions? And who was this person? And when did she make this arrangement to meet them. Elaine was wearing only a brow when she was discovered. However, the pathologists said that there was no sign of sexual activity prior to her murder. If this was the case, then why was she naked? And if she died during sexual activity,

then how exactly had this occurred. The other thing that strikes me as odd is the police's insistence that she must have been going there to meet someone. Where is the evidence to point to this? Unless there are aspects of the case which have not been made public, I cannot see how this is the only theory for her murder. Elaine's stepdad clearly believed that someone local held the answer, and I can only agree given that who else would have been

wandering around the raceway seven miles away from town in the early evening. Elane's case is a tragedy given the lack of publicity that this has had since it occurred. I am aware from the listener suggestion that this is not the case locally, and that many local people do not believe that this case has got the attention it needs and that it deserves to be solved. I feel exactly the same about it, and I really feel for Elaine's family, as they

did not get the answers they deserved either about what happened. The fact that so much was made about Elaine going to meet a man saddens me, as while this may have been the case, there are probably many other things that could have happened, and I feel that police became fixated on this particular theory. The fact that Elaine was always mentioned as being a mistress or heading to meet a man for sex also did her a disservice and may have impacted how

she was viewed. As a result, I don't feel that I know as much about Elaine as a person as I would have wanted. She was a twenty year old young woman with her whole life ahead of her, and she did not deserve to be left partly naked on a racetrack. She deserves justice for what happened. If you know anything about the murder of Elaine Wakefield in Buxton in nineteen eighty two, then please contact Derbyshire Police on one oh one.

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