Cannock Chase murders
The Cannock Chase murders (also known as the A34 murders, the Babes in the Ditch murders and the Half-Day murders) were the murders of three girls aged between five and seven in Staffordshire, England, between 1965 and 1967. The bodies of all three children were discovered on Cannock Chase, a vast area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire.
Cannock Chase murders | |
|---|---|
Margaret Reynolds (left), Diana Tift (centre) and Christine Darby (right) | |
| Other names | The A34 murders Babes in the Ditch murders The Half-Day murders |
| Motive | Child sexual abuse Rape |
| Details | |
| Victims | 1 (convicted); 2 (alleged) |
Span of crimes | 8 September 1965 – 19 August 1967 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Location(s) | Staffordshire, England |
Date apprehended | 15 November 1968 |
Raymond Leslie Morris was arrested for the attempted abduction of an intended fourth victim on 15 November 1968. He was convicted in February 1969 of the 1967 murder of seven-year-old Christine Ann Darby at Stafford Assizes. Although never charged with the murders of the first two victims discovered on Cannock Chase, following Morris's conviction, a police spokesman informed the media all investigators involved in his apprehension remained convinced that all three children had been murdered by Morris, who is also believed to be responsible for the abduction, sexual assault, and attempted murder of a fifth girl in 1964.
The manhunt to identify and apprehend Morris is reported to be one of the largest initiated to apprehend a child killer in British history. He died of natural causes at HMP Preston on 11 March 2014.