"Horrendous" murder of Sheffield sex worker Dawn Shields still remains unsolved 32 years later
At the time of her murder 19-year-old Dawn - who was strangled and sustained head injuries - was selling her body on the streets to support herself and her 11-month -old baby
This months marks 32 years since the still-unsolved murder of a young Sheffield sex worker and mum-of-one whose naked body was found dumped in the Peak District.
Dawn Shields, 19, was found by a ranger buried under some rocks on Mam Tor, Castleton, on May 20, 1994. Her body was found "by chance" when he took a different path to his usual route up the 500-metre hill, say police.
This was almost a week after she had disappeared, having been seen getting into a car in Broomhall - Sheffield’s then red light district - on May 14.
In 2019 police opened a case review with hopes a re-examination of inquiry exhibits held in storage for decades might uncover some new leads.
Dave Stopford, in charge of the probe at that time, said the murder was a "horrendous crime".
He said Dawn was a "vulnerable young person" when she was killed and the police force was keen to secure "justice" for her and her family.
Speaking about the renewed probe in 2019 the former detective, said: "Advancements in DNA techniques are being made all the time and less and less DNA is now needed to identify someone."
However he added the investigation was "far from straightforward" as masks and gloves were not always worn by investigators handling evidence in the 1990s. So cross-contamination could present problems.
At the time of her murder 19-year-old Dawn - who was strangled and sustained head injuries - was selling her body on the streets to support herself and her 11-month -old baby.
South Yorkshire Police said Dawn, from Pitsmoor, had lived a "troubled life" and was pressurised into prostitution from the age of 14.
Ultimately the new investigation was fruitless and to this day Dawn’s killer remains at large. In 2024 and marking the 30th anniversary since her sister’s murder, Mandy Shields spoke out - urging more needed to be done.
She said: “It (the police investigation) needs to be reopened. It needs to be started from the beginning. Even if it amounts to nothing, at least they’ve double ticked those boxes again.
“Because the line that they’re going down is not working. Thirty years later, here we are. The way it’s going it will be another 10 years, and another 10 years.
“After 30 years of getting nowhere would it hurt to start from the beginning again? I think 30 years is a long time now. My sister is now a nannan, of a grandson she has not even seen.”
Remembering Dawn three decades on, Mandy said she had fond memories f her younger sister before she got involved in drugs.
“She would not leave home without her make up, without her hair done” said Mandy. “She was one of the kindest, gentlest people.
“She wouldn't say boo to a goose. If anyone picked on her I would be the one to defend her.”
Dawn's death has been re-examined several times for links with the deaths of other sex workers, including 25-year-old Michaela Hague from Sheffield - killed seven years later in 2001.
She was found stabbed slumped on a car park at nearby Spitalfields after being stabbed 19 times in her back and neck.
Michaela had been picked up from Bower Street, off Corporation Street in the city centre, on Bonfire Night that year.
The first police officer deployed to the crime scene spoke to Michaela and managed to retrieve valuable information from the young woman, who was found in a pool of blood and died in hospital three hours later.
She had been working as a prostitute to fund a drug habit when she was seen getting into a car and was driven to a dark nearby car par – opposite a pub known then as The Manchester, but which is now The Harlequin.
An old-style blue Ford Sierra was spotted driving away from the car park – triggering a nationwide hunt for the car and its driver but to no avail.
It was hoped that the clues provided – that her attacker was white, clean-shaven and wore a wedding ring – would help detectives track him down.
A police E-fit was later produced and shared on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in case the killer was from elsewhere in the country but he was never traced.
Michaela, who had a five-year-old son at the time of her death, started working as a prostitute just six months earlier, an inquest into her death was told.