Top, l-r: Kevin Nightingale, John 'The Badge' Roberts, Viv Graham; Bottom, l-r: Stephen Sweeney, Allan Graham, Paul Logan

Unsolved: Newcastle and North East murder victims whose killers have never been caught

by · ChronicleLive

They are some of the most notorious murders in the North East - yet their cases remain unsolved.

Their lives were taken and their families have been left wondering who carried out the evil acts. In the case of Jodie Wilkinson, her life was cut short when she was stabbed in broad daylight during a violent clash between two groups.

Peter Beaumount Gowling, 52, was shot in the head and body at point blank range, while Viv Graham was gunned down after leaving a North Tyneside pub.

The family of 11-year-old Allan Graham is still searching for answers decades later after the school boy went missing in Newcastle and was later found strangled in a Northumberland ditch.

Taxi driver Paul Logan was found with fatal head injuries on farmland, while Ann Heron savagely had her throat had been slit.

Here we look at 13 cases that remain unsolved across the region.

Map shows 1,000 unsolved murders across the UK

Jodie Wilkinson

The 27-year-old was stabbed to death in broad daylight in front of parents and schoolchildren during a violent clash between two groups.
Jodie was walking along Stanhope Street, in the Arthur’s Hill area of Newcastle, on October 17, 2016, with friends when she was knifed during an altercation between one of her friends and a group of strangers.
The wound to Jodie’s abdomen caused massive internal bleeding, and despite efforts to save her, she died from her injuries.
David Waterston, of Hamilton Place, Newcastle, was charged with Jodie’s murder, but later acquitted after a trial.
A year after Jodie’s death, four men were jailed for their parts in the violent disorder, which led to Jodie’s death.
But no-one has been convicted of Jodie's murder.(Image: newcastle chronicle)

Peter Beaumont-Gowling

Playboy, drugs tycoon and businessman? The life of Peter Beaumont-Gowling was shrouded in as much mystery and intrigue as his violent death.
The flamboyant former restaurateur was shot in a suspected contract killing at his plush home in Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, on Valentine's Day 2001.
His murder remains one of the region's most baffling unsolved crimes, and it's perhaps the fact it happened on a day associated with celebrations of love that makes it seem somewhat more sinister.
Beaumont-Gowling answered the door and was shot in the head and body four times at point-blank range.
His body lay undiscovered until his girlfriend Teresa Holmes, who had been out visiting friends, returned to the flat shortly before midnight.
While he appeared to be a legitimate businessman on the surface, Beaumont-Gowling had strong connections with crime in the UK and across Europe.
After becoming hooked on cocaine, he fell in with powerful drug dealers and took on the role of courier for their cash.
He was jailed for 11 years for money laundering in 1997.
By this time he had laundered £2.5m in five trips to Dublin, making a personal profit of at least £125,000. But he was caught red-handed as he prepared to board a flight with £540,000 in drug money in 1996.
Beaumont-Gowling, also known as David Simpson, was released from prison just months before his murder. He became an adviser to restaurants on Teesside as part of his prison-release programme.
Following his release from prison he also returned to the home in Jesmond where he had lived with girlfriend Teresa.
And he quickly resumed his high-profile lifestyle in the city.(Image: handout)

Viv Graham

Dad-of-four Viv was blasted three times with a shotgun after leaving a pub on Wallsend High Street on New Year's Eve 1993. After being left bleeding in the street, the well-known security boss was able to drag himself 30 yards up the street to get help.
But when his partner Anna arrived at North Tyneside General Hospital that night medics told her there had been nothing they could do to save Viv's life.
The murder sparked a huge manhunt, but to this day no-one has ever been brought to justice. The shooting remains one of the North East's most notorious unsolved crimes. And Viv's life and death have since been the subject of numerous books and documentaries.(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Stephen Sweeney

The businessman was found slumped over a desk in his Gateshead factory on July 8, 1998.
Stephen’s death sparked a major murder probe, and would subsequently lead to an international drug trafficking gang being uncovered.
Yet to this day no-one has been brought to justice for the murder.