£20,000 reward to catch killer who strangled Julie Finley and dumped her naked body in a field 32 years ago

Published 21 October 2026, 16:25

• Detective Inspector Samantha Davies took the 1994 cold case to BBC Crimewatch Live, calling the mystery 'unfathomable'
• Julie, 23, vanished after telling a friend she was meeting someone at 11pm — a white Transit van near the scene was never traced
• Her heartbroken mother says Julie's dad died 'with a broken heart' waiting for justice

A £20,000 reward is on offer to catch the killer who strangled 23-year-old Julie Finley and dumped her naked body in a field 32 years ago.

Detective Inspector Samantha Davies appeared on BBC One's Crimewatch Live on Wednesday 21 October to appeal for information about the 1994 cold case, according to Merseyside Police.

Julie disappeared from Liverpool city centre on Friday 5 August 1994.

Her body was discovered the next day in a field close to the Wheatsheaf Hotel near the A570 Rainford Bypass.

"It is unfathomable that 32 years after her death Julie's killer remains at large," Davies said.

"We know that there are people who know what happened to Julie and whether through fear or a misplaced sense of loyalty have never come forward," she added. "Our hope is that this appeal will finally be the catalyst for those people to speak up. It really is never too late."

On her final night, Julie visited her parents' house in Dovecot, spending time with her mum and sister, before returning to her flat off Falkner Square, where she was with her boyfriend and another friend.

She left at around 10pm and headed into the city centre.

At around 10.30pm she saw a friend on Grove Street and said she was meeting someone at 11pm, Davies said.

A woman matching her description was later seen on Crown Street running across the road towards a male who has never been identified.

The last confirmed sighting was at 11.45pm outside the former Stag's Head pub on Pembroke Place.

"Her body was found the following morning some distance away in Rainford so we know she must have been taken there in a vehicle," Davies said.

Witnesses reported a white Transit van parked in a layby off the Rainford bypass.

The van and its driver have never been traced.

"It is heartbreaking that Julie's sister and dad have both died during that time and never got the answers they so keenly sought," Davies said, according to the Merseyside Police appeal. "Julie's family deserve to know that her killer has been caught and is behind bars."

Julie's mother said: "Growing up she was the perfect daughter. She went to college and studied hairdressing." Julie was her mother's second oldest child.

"Her father, my husband Albie, died without ever seeing justice. He died with a broken heart," she said. "I miss her every day. I always think about the life she could have had, she might have been married with her own children. As a family we have waited far too long to find out who killed Julie."

The Crimewatch Live appeal features a BBC reconstruction filmed in the 1990s, showing the Liverpool skyline as it was then to jog memories. The episode is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Investigators have interviewed dozens of potential witnesses and reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, with the case remaining open and forensic tools such as DNA being considered.

Pamela Tompsett, Crimestoppers' North West Regional Manager, said: "Time can change things. Relationships end, loyalties shift and people who once felt unable to speak up may now feel differently." She added: "It could be the piece that helps police finally put the picture together."

The reward of up to £20,000 is for information given exclusively to Crimestoppers leading to an arrest and conviction.

"You never have to give your name," Tompsett said. "You will never be asked to make a statement or go to court, and no one will ever know the information came from you."

Information can be given via @MerPolCC on X or Facebook, the Merseyside Police website, by calling 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.