Overview
- The renewed appeal was launched Monday, June 15, 2026, when Crimestoppers announced a £20,000 anonymous reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
- Janet Murgatroyd, a 20‑year‑old University of Central Lancashire student, was attacked after leaving the Adelphi pub in Preston and was found dead in the River Ribble in June 1996.
- Police say CCTV shows her walking along Fishergate, witnesses reported a purse theft near the railway station and two people heard a woman cry and saw a man by the riverbank before her body was recovered.
- A post‑mortem recorded drowning and head injuries, detectives treated the attack as sexually motivated, and most of Janet’s clothing was found on the riverbank.
- A man convicted in the early 2000s had his conviction quashed on appeal and is not part of the current investigation, which now re‑examines evidence with modern forensics and asks anyone with memories of that night to contact Crimestoppers or Lancashire Police.