Evil killer Robert Black who died of natural causes in Maghaberry top security prison in Co Antrim yesterday was about to be charged with the murder of 13-year-old Genette Tait who vanished from a rural lane in Aylesbeare, Devon, in August 1978. Her body has never been found.
In 1990 he was arrested and convicted of the abduction of a young girl in Stow then following an extensive investigation he was subsequently found guilty of the murders of eleven year-old Susan Maxwell from the Scottish Borders, five-year-old Caroline Hogg from Portobello and ten-year-old Sarah Harper from Morley, near Leeds following a court case in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
He was also convicted of attempting to abduct 15-year-old Theresa Thornhill from Nottingham.
Black first became a suspect in Genette Tait’s murder in 1994 and was initially interviewed by Devon and Cornwall Police about it in 1996.
Detective Superintendent Paul Burgan, of Devon and Cornwall Police said today: “The reinvestigation into Genette’s murder started back in 2014 following a court of appeal hearing in 2013
“We have had a team of 10 working on that extensively for the past two years.
“We were in the process of submitting a full evidential file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which would have been submitted in February of this year.
“In earlier indications, the CPS has said that in all probability, we would have charged Robert Black with Genette’s abduction and murder.
“We were waiting for a final charging decision from them when the file went to them.”
A spokesman for the CPS said: ” This is a very large and complex case, with an extremely long history, and the CPS has worked closely with Devon & Cornwall Police.
“We have been in close discussions with the police about the evidence that they have submitted, and the police are now making their final inquiries in the case, which would have enabled a charging decision to be made.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
