Five of south east London's shocking unsolved murders revisited

We have looked back through the archives and picked out five cases which took place in south east London, where the killer was able to evade justice altogether. 

Debbie Linsley – 1988

The most famous unsolved murder to have taken place in or involved someone from south east London is the case of Debbie Linsley.

The Bromley-born 26-year-old was found dead in the compartment of a train travelling from Petts Wood to Victoria Station on 23 March 1988, at about 2.50pm.

Although there were about 70 people on the train, and Linsley apparently fought and injured her attacker, only one passenger reported hearing anything suspicious. 

At some point before the journey ended Linsley was stabbed to death. She sustained eleven stab wounds to the face, neck and abdomen, of which at least five were to the area around the heart.

The short length of the journey, just six minutes, suggested Linsley might have known her attacker.

The sole apparent witness was a French au pair, who reported hearing loud screams soon after the train had departed Brixton.

Police appealed for information regarding four identified men, one described as a "scruffy man with dirty blond hair" who alighted from the train at Penge East.

The 1988 police investigation produced 1200 witness statements; 650 individuals were questioned and ruled out.

The case was reopened in 2002, in the hope that DNA left at the scene by the killer could reveal their identity, however this again led nowhere.

Daniel Morgan – 1987

Private investigator Daniel Morgan, 37, was found with an axe in his head in the car park of Sydenham’s Golden Lion pub on March 10, 1987.

The father-of-two met his investigatory partner Jonathan Rees for a drink. Later that evening he was found dead, next to his car.

His watch was missing, along with notes he had written earlier that evening that had been ripped from his pocket. 

His death has been the subject of several failed police inquiries, and in 2011 as at the centre of allegations concerning conduct of journalists at the News of the World.

Five people were arrested in connection with the death in 2008, but the case collapsed after a string of supergrasses were discredited.

He was said to have been close to exposing police corruption.

Sam Guidera – 2011

Sam Guidera was found collapsed in the street in Bailey Place, at the junction with Newlands Park, about 200 metres from Penge East station, on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

Mr Guidera was stabbed in the heart. His wallet containing a Greenwich University student card was stolen from him and has never been found.

Police believe the killer may have got his attention by pretending they wanted to use his phone.

Mr Guidera, who was studying history and politics and wanted to be a teacher, had spent the day watching football on television with friends.

He was on his way to meet his girlfriend when he was killed.

Mr Guidera's family and friends have made repeated appeals to help find his killer.

Tadas Jarusevcius - 2015

Tadas Jarusevcius, 29, was discovered under a railway bridge near Plumstead High Street on September 23, 2015.

A post-mortem revealed the Lithuanian national died of blunt force trauma to the head having been kicked, punched and possibly stamped on.

Police said they could not say whether he had been murdered by one or more people because of the nature of his chaotic lifestyle.

Mr Jarusevicius lived under the flyover with a group of men, having recently ended a relationship.

Seven people were arrested on suspicion of murder during the investigation but five were released without charge, whilst no further information is known about the other two.

Earl Warburton - 2012

Earl Warburton,­­ 59, died in the early hours of February 15, 2012 in his flat in Loampit Hill, Lewisham.

A well-known character in the area, Mr Warburton - also known as Duke - ran two brothels, one known as the Madonnas from that address and one in Plumstead Common.

On the night he died Mr Warburton was with four prostitutes when four men entered the flat through a second door usually reserved for clients.

They ordered the women to lie down facing the floor.

Two suspects grabbed Mr Warburton and tried to restrain him, before dragging him to the bathroom, beating him.

Eventually the men left, and after a while the hookers felt safe to get up.

Two of them fled, and one has never been traced.

One of the two remaining call-girls ventured into the bathroom where she said Mr Warburton felt like “a sack of potatoes”, and there was blood coming from his head.

When paramedics arrived they reported seeing “blood run down his mouth, his eyes and face are swollen and there’s blood in his nostrils”.

Mr Warburton’s murderers have never been found and a £20,000 reward remains for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of those responsible.