Police officers recreate grave and murder scene of Kieran Williams in bid to track down killer
“This was a horrific case”
Detectives and forensic experts have returned to the site of a makeshift grave where a teenager’s body was found to recreate the murder and burial scene.
Police returned to the area between the Northern Spire Bridge and Claxheugh Rocks, in Sunderland, to carry out planned test excavations which involved the recreating the exact dimensions of Kieran William’s grave, which officers confirmed was not a shallow grave but was in-fact “about waist deep”.
Forensic experts recreated three graves at the “same time of year, and with the same soil conditions” as when Kieran’s grave was dug.
It was to ascertain new information such as how long it would have taken to dig the grave, how many people may have been involved and where finger prints may have been left.
Detectives confirmed this was to identify new lines of inquiry in relation to the number of suspects and whether a pre-planned grave may have already been dug.
Kieran Williams, who was 18 at the time, went missing from his Esplanade West home on April 18, 2022.
Six weeks after Kieran went missing, a makeshift grave was found on the disused industrial estate on May 31.
Kieran had been stabbed at least 23 times and his body set on fire.
On April 18 this year, to coincide with anniversary of Kieran’s disappearance, Northumbria Police launched a new appeal, stating “someone, somewhere, knows something”.
Speaking today from the site of Kieran’s grave, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Matt Steel said: “Saturday April 18 marked four years since Kieran was tragically murdered. This was a horrific case where Kieran was brutally stabbed at least 23 times.
“Our investigation still remains very much active and we’ve continued to seek answers for his loved ones.
“We know there are unidentified finger prints at the scene of the murder. Ultimately someone somewhere knows who they belong to and are keeping quiet.
“Today we are carrying out a number of test excavations at the makeshift grave site.”
Two men were charged in connection with Kieran’s death and stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where they were both acquitted of murder.
On March 27, 2023, one of the men, Louis Hackett, now 23, of Fordenbridge Square, Sunderland, was convicted of manslaughter.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Hackett had lured his “best friend” to the secluded spot where Kieran was stabbed.
Speaking at the time, prosecutors said Hackett, who has learning difficulties, “pestered” Kieran to meet him, knowing he would come to “at least some harm at the hands of others”.
However, a judge concluded that Kieran’s killer remained at large and that justice had not been done.
He said: “You knew something untoward was to happen to him, that much is clear.
"However, equally consistent with the verdict, you didn’t know he would suffer really serious harm, still less that he would be stabbed 23 times.
“The real perpetrator or perpetrators have got away with it, justice has not been done”.
DSI Steel also confirmed police officers are also obtaining fingerprints from people in the community to eliminate them from their enquiries.
DSI Steel added: “I’m once again urging people to do the right thing and come forward. This will help to give Kieran’s family the closure they truly deserve.”
Anyone with information should contact Northumbria Police through their online Major Incident Public Portal or calling 101.