Arrest made in investigation of 1988 murder

POLICE investigating the 1988 murder of a Yorkshire driving instructor have made a fresh arrest, three years after a man was convicted of the killing.

Officers from Humberside Police swooped on an address in the Northumberland village of Widdrington at 8am yesterday and arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and soliciting another person to commit murder.

The suspect, who has not been named, was taken into police custody in Northumberland. Last night he was being questioned over the fatal stabbing of Keith Slater, 35, on August 27, 1988.

The father-of-two died in the arms of his wife from a single stab wound to the neck after answering a knock at the door of his home in Bon Accord Road, Hessle, East Yorkshire, in the middle of the night.

Martin Brown, now 46 and originally from Anlaby, East Yorkshire, was extradited from Australia in 2006 and was convicted of Mr Slater’s murder in 2007 after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

The man arrested yesterday is a former resident of the Willerby area of East Yorkshire and was questioned as part of the initial inquiry into the killing.

Chief Supt Colin Andrews of Humberside Police, who is leading the inquiry and was part of the original investigating team, said the case was still active and did not rule out further arrests.

He also appealed for anyone with information about the case to contact police.

He said: “It has always been our view that there was more than one person involved in Keith’s death.

“At the time Keith died he (the suspect) was living in the south of England but before that he lived in the Willerby area. We believe there are still some people out there who know about this crime.

“In spite of the fact one man was convicted, this is very much still a live murder investigation.”

He added: “I believe this case has been talked about in various parts of the country; in Surrey, Hull and I suspect in Northumbria, and I believe people with knowledge of the case have spoken about it to others and don’t understand how significant it is to us.”

Mr Slater’s family and wife Carol have been informed of the arrest, and were said to have mixed feelings about the development.

Chief Supt Andrews said: “It’s a double-edged sword for the family. They want to know the facts of what happened to Keith, but it awakes memories they would rather put to the back of their minds.”

Despite denying murder Brown told his mother, Maureen Trotter, in 1992 that he was the mystery attacker who had stabbed Mr Slater.

But because she was having treatment for mental illness at the time police heard of the confession, they felt they could not rely on her as a witness, and Brown’s defence team successfully argued that her evidence should not be admitted at his trial.

The court heard Brown had been fascinated by the occult, tarot cards and numerology.

He had also been quizzed as part of the initial investigation, but it was not until advances in DNA technology that police were able to find vital evidence against him.

His DNA profile was on a piece of tissue paper recovered in 1988 on the attacker’s escape route, and he was also linked by his interest in numerology to a Swan Vesta matchbox found at a derelict house nearby, which had his date of birth, the number of Mr Slater’s house, and the date prior to the murder written on it.

Brown’s interest in the occult was shared with his younger brother Patrick and their friend, Joe Henry.

In court, Mrs Slater admitted having an affair with Mr Henry when they worked together at an old people’s home in Willerby.

She said it ended 10 months before the killing and she had been trying hard to make the marriage work.

Martin Brown met his future wife, Andrea Montague, while living with Patrick in Wallington, Surrey, and the couple later emigrated to Australia with their two teenage sons.

They settled in Cooma, New South Wales, where Brown worked as a painter and decorator until his arrest.

simon.bristow@ypn.co.uk