Help find Michaela killer pleads partner 10 years after stabbing

Michaela Hague was killed on Bonfire Night 2001 in Sheffield city centre and was able to give a description of the man who stabbed her to a police officer called to the scene of the attack.

Yesterday Miss Hague’s partner Mick Holmes met that officer for the first time as he joined senior detectives who said they were still hopeful that the murderer would be brought to justice.

Miss Hague, who had been working as a street prostitute, suffered 19 stab wounds to her neck and back in the frenzied assault and was left for dead in a car park in Spitalfields, Sheffield.

The area has now been redeveloped, but Mr Holmes and Det Supt Lisa Ray, who is now in charge of the inquiry, said they hoped people could cast their mind back to provide new information.

Speaking at a police press conference, Mr Holmes said: “Losing Michaela has destroyed me, my son and Michaela’s family. It’s destroyed my trust in anybody round me or round my kids.

“Every waking minute it’s there. I close my eyes it’s there, I wake up screaming. I only feel safe in my house, I worry all the time.

“The person who killed Michaela took more than a partner, he took my soul mate of six years. The hardest thing I have ever done is telling my five-year-old son his mum was dead.

“My son never got to be brought up by his mum. One minute she was setting off fireworks, then she was gone forever.

“I was asked what I miss about Michaela, that’s the easiest question ever. I miss everything about her, her company, her voice, just being with her cuddling up on the settee watching TV.

“She was my partner, my reason for living and there has been no-one to replace her. I don’t want to ever replace her. I miss her every minute of every day.

“I want this person caught. I want someone to come forward and help the police, give him up, he’s a killer. Please pick up the phone and give us his name. He’s had ten years of freedom he should never have had.”

Police believe Miss Hague, who was 25 at the time she was killed, was picked up in the Bower Street area some time after 7pm on Bonfire Night 2001, and was later seen in the Corporation Street area.

She was found semi-conscious by a friend shortly after 8pm and an officer called Richard Twigg was the first on the scene. Despite his efforts and those of paramedics, Miss Hague died in hospital three hours later.

Mr Holmes had asked to meet Mr Twigg, who is no longer a police constable, to thank him for his efforts, and the two were able to talk at yesterday’s event.

Mr Twigg told how he had scrawled a description of the offender on his hand at the scene after Miss Hague told him her attacker was clean shaven and had been wearing a wedding ring.

Det Supt Ray said: “A major investigation room was set up after the incident and teams of detectives worked tremendously hard, including having a reconstruction featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

“Despite all this, Michaela’s murder remains undetected.

“However, as with any case of this kind, it is subject to review. And with advances in technology and forensic work, we are always looking for that extra vital piece of evidence that can help us solve the crime and hopefully bring some sort of closure for the family – and the killer tojustice.

“I’ve been looking very closely at this case as it approaches its 10-year anniversary and have a team of dedicated investigators that have been reviewing both old lines of enquiry and exploring any new leads.”

Appeal posters will be put up across Sheffield in the next few days and a nyone with information which could help the inquiry should call South Yorkshire Police on 0114 296 3713.

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