On 1 August 1992, Helen Gorrie, a 15-year-old British schoolgirl was found half-naked and strangled in the grounds of Merchistoun Hall in Horndean, after going out one night to meet a 21-year-old man named John Corcoran.

Corcoran was suspected of strangling Gorrie after she refused his sexual advances, and in 1999 he was convicted of her murder, as well as being charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl in 1990.

[1] She lived on an estate in Horndean, Hampshire, with her mum Sheila and stepbrother Jamie, and attended Purbrook Park School.

[1] At 11:30 pm, Helen said she was going to bed, before coming back downstairs shortly after and leaving the house, telling her brother that she would only be a few minutes and wouldn't be long.

[4] The following morning, Gorrie was found dead in the grounds of Merchistoun Hall, the Horndean Community Centre, only 10 minutes' walk from her house.

[1] At an emotional news conference, Gorrie's mother broke down as she described how her daughter was "a lovable girl with a zest for life".

[3] Helen had met Corcoran the night before she died as he cruised the streets of Horndean in his battered Ford Escort car.

[3] He was said to "prey on young girls" and police believed he had tried to force himself on Gorrie, and when she resisted he strangled and smothered her with her own clothing.

[6] It was heard that the scratches on his arm had come from Helen as she fought him for her life, as supported by the fact that two of her false fingernails were found at the scene.

[8] In the early stages of the trial it had been reported that DNA evidence which linked Corcoran to the murder scene would be part of the prosecution case,[10] and a year previously it had been reported that investigators had identified DNA from material from under Gorrie's broken nails or from her clothing,[5] but this evidence was not used at the trial.

[3] Lead detective Colin Smith reacted by saying: "Helen was a popular, lively but vulnerable adolescent who was killed by a nasty and vicious man who preyed on young girls.

[16] However, a large police investigation named Operation Anagram examined the possibility of Tobin having claimed more victims and ended in 2011, having found no evidence to connect him to any further cases.