Police renew appeal for information on Rochdale mum burnt alive at Christmas

Tracey Mertens was burned alive in 1994.

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Police are renewing their appeal for information about a Rochdale woman who was burnt alive two days before Christmas 15 years ago.

On 23 December 1994 Tracey Mertens kissed her two children goodbye and set off from her home in Rochdale on an overnight visit to Birmingham. She never came back.

While in Birmingham, Ms Mertens was kidnapped, driven to Cheshire, doused in petrol and set alight. She died on Christmas Eve, leaving a legacy of pain for her children and family which has spanned a decade and a half.

Her killers have never been caught, and Cheshire Police are joining Ms Mertens’ family to renew their appeal for information which could bring her killers to justice fifteen years after her terrible death. 

Ms Mertens was 31 years of age, and the loving mother of two young children, Daniel aged 12, and Kelly aged 11. She lived with the children’s father, her partner, Joey Kavanagh.

This was to be the first Christmas in the family’s new home in Rochdale. They had moved suddenly from their previous home in the Netchells area of Birmingham five weeks earlier. 

Ms Mertens had been so badly burned that the man who found her thought she was wearing a costume. She was taken to hospital where, despite her pain, she managed to give the account of being abducted from her old Birmingham home, taken to the Cheshire churchyard, doused in petrol, and set alight.

She described the car she was bundled into as a tatty yellow escort, and her abductors as male, black, aged around 30 years, big and fat in build, with Birmingham accents.

Despite 95% body burns, Ms Mertens survived some 12 hours, passing away in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Fifteen years on, Cheshire Police are renewing their appeal for information which will bring Ms Mertens’ killers to justice, and a reconstruction of her abduction will feature on BBC’s Crimewatch on 21 December.

The officer leading the enquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Bailey, of the Cheshire Constabulary Major Investigation Team, said: “Tracey’s was a cruel and painful death. There are many unanswered questions and we are hoping that viewers of Crimewatch can provide us with some crucial answers as to why a loving mum, with no known enemies, should have her life taken from her in such a callous way.”

Police are keen to establish:

• Why was Ms Mertens abducted and killed? She told officers on her deathbed that the two men who kidnapped her had asked where Mr Kavanagh was. One possible motive being explored by police is that Ms Mertens was targeted to send a message to Mr Kavanagh. Mr Kavanagh was a habitual drug user and he admitted owing people money. 
  
• How did Ms Mertens' killers know that she was visiting the old family home that day? Their arrival on her chance visit to the property could not be a coincidence, and police believe they may have been watching the house. Did you tip them off about the young mum’s visit to her former home, or do you know someone who may have done this?
  
• Ms Mertens was kidnapped at around 11.30am. Her charred body was found on the steps of the church at around 4.10pm. The journey from Birmingham to Eaton churchyard takes less than two hours. Where did the offenders take Ms Mertens in the yellow escort for the remainder of the time?
• Why did Ms Mertens' killers choose Eaton in Cheshire?
• Ms Mertens' killers were prepared and equipped to carry out their gruesome task. Where did they purchase the petrol which they doused her with?
• What about Ms Mertens' killers? Did they talk about what they had done? Were they employed by someone to carry out their gruesome task? Did they both intend to murder?

DCI Paul Bailey will be at the London studios when the programme is broadcast, with officers from the enquiry team answering calls in the studio.

DCI Bailey said: “While most of us feel warm, safe and happy at Christmas, Tracey’s children and family have been left with a dreadful legacy following her murder, which haunts them every Christmas and always will until her killers are brought to justice.

“I firmly believe that there are people who knew in 1994 what had happened to Tracey, why she had been targeted, and who lay behind it. It may be that in 1994 you felt unable to come forward and contact police. Today, the law provides us with many means and measures to support those who provide valuable information in criminal enquiries – measures that were not necessarily available to police forces in 1994. If you know something, you can feel confident in coming forward.”

A police reward of £30,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Ms Mertens' killers remains unclaimed.

Information can be offered directly to the Operation Eaton Incident Room on 0845 458 0000. Alternatively, information can be left anonymously on the Crimestoppers hotline 0800 555 111.