For more than 25 years the killer of Trevor Metcalfe has remained at large. Crime Reporter Sophie Barley revisits the investigation and looks at how it has progressed
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Trevor Metcalfe was a defenceless man beaten to death on a Teesside playing field.
The Middlesbrough dad was described by police as “anti-social in his behaviour” and had an addiction to solvents.
For decades police have tried to piece together Mr Metcalfe’s last movements. There have been numerous appeals over the years but no one has ever been prosecuted.
It was Saturday, September 16, 1989, when Mr Metcalfe’s battered body was discovered at Dormanstown recreation ground.
A post-mortem examination showed that he had died from a brain haemorrhage after suffering severe head injuries consistent with a beating.
No weapon is believed to have been used. Police described the killing as a “vicious attack without any apparent motive”.
It is known that Mr Metcalfe who had no fixed abode but had previously lived in Rowan Road, Thorntree, and Marton Road in Middlesbrough, bought his final supply of solvents from the Great Mills Superstore in Skippers Lane, South Bank at 7.30pm on September 15.
He then boarded a bus after paying 25p for a ticket and at about 8pm he was seen at the bus stop opposite the Magnet Pub in Grangetown.
Nothing more is known by police until 11.45pm when an elderly witness spotted two men fighting in Dormanstown recreation ground.
One of the men fitted Mr Metcalfe’s description while the other was said to be taller.
Police remained puzzled as to the reason Mr Metcalfe travelled to Dormanstown that evening and they believed this information was the vital clue they needed to find his killer.
At the time of the murder, Detective Inspector Brian Temke said: “If we could find out why he went to Dormanstown it could answer a lot of questions for us.
“Did he know someone? Did he meet someone who he upset?”
Over the years fresh appeals were made and in September 1998 police thought a breakthrough had been made when they received an anonymous letter.
Printed in blue ink on a foolscap sheet of grey-lined paper, the letter was posted in Cleveland but was anonymous.
It began: “How saddened I am to hear on TV that you have had no help with your appeal for clues tot he Trevor Metcalf (sic) murder.
“My conscience is telling me that I may be able to help you or maybe not, but I am going to reveal to you what I was told some years ago.”
The rest of the information was withheld by detectives in the hope the writer would come forward.
Mr Metcalfe’s addiction to solvents is believed to have started following the death of his mother Brenda.
Mr Metcalfe watched in horror as his mother drown in Redcar, eight years before his death.
It is believed the tragic death left Mr Metcalfe scarred for life.
In 2010 police revealed that they were following new lines of inquiry into the unsolved case but no charges were made.
Also read:
:: Teesside's unsolved crimes: Rachel Wilson murder still a mystery twelve years on
:: Teesside's unsolved crimes: The murder of Darren Manders
:: Teesside's unsolved crimes: The murder of Tina Bell
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