A CHARGE over the death of Simon Martin in 1990 revived memories of other unsolved Sunderland killings.
In May 1986, 51-year-old Julie Perigo was found stabbed to death in her flat in Kidderminster Road, Downhill.
Despite a nationwide hunt for the killer of the twice-divorced vice girl, with nearly 6,000 people interviewed, no one has ever been charged with her murder.
In October 1992, seven-year-old Nikki Allan’s body was found in the then-derelict Exchange Building in High Street East, metres from her home at Wear Garth.
Neighbour George Heron was arrested and confessed to the murder.
But a six-week trial collapsed after the judge at Leeds Crown Court ruled Northumbria Police had used heavy-handed techniques to interrogate the then 24-year-old.
In January 2004, Scott Pritchard, 19, of Lindsay Close, Hendon, was brutally killed.
Wearside police launched one of its biggest murder investigations as detectives carried out hundreds of interviews and collected more than 2,400 exhibits
In July 2005, police arrested Scott’s dad, Robert Frederick Stacey, 52, and charged him with his son’s murder.
Mr Stacey, formerly of Deerness Road, Hendon, denied the charge and three months later the Crown Prosecution Service said no further action was to be taken against him.
