The murder of Roy Tutill occurred on 23 April 1968 in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, United Kingdom. The victim was a 14-year-old schoolboy who was

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d and

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

on his way home from school. The murder went unsolved for 33 years, until Brian Lunn Field confessed to the crime after

DNA evidence Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

surfaced in 2001. It was the oldest

cold case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

to be solved in the United Kingdom until the conviction of David Burgess for the 1966 murder of Yolande Waddington in 2012.

Murder

Roy Tutill, known as "Tuts" to his friends, disappeared on 23 April 1968 on his way from

Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is a private co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by royal charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, to his home in

Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At th ...

. He left school at 3:30 p.m. and boarded a bus with his friends. To save on bus fare to buy a new bicycle, he then decided to

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

the rest of the way home, something he did regularly. Tutill was last seen in

Chessington Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London, which was historically part of Surrey. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of ...

, trying to hail a car. Tutill's parents, Dennis and Hilary, notified

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Counties of England, county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Tim De Meyer. The force has its headquarters at Mount Brown ...

when he failed to arrive home that evening. The police took a

missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as Life, alive or Death, dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accide ...

's report, but did not begin investigating until the following day. The body of the schoolboy was found by a policeman three days later outside the gates of

Cherkley Court Cherkley Court, at the extreme southeast of Leatherhead, Surrey, in England, is a late Victorian neo-classical mansion and estate of , once the home of Canadian-born press baron Lord Beaverbrook. The main house is listed Grade II on the Nati ...

, in Mickleham. He had been

strangle Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

d and

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexua ...

Investigation

The only information police learned was that a bus driver had seen a schoolboy talking to a driver of a silver-grey Austin Westminster Mark II car. The driver was described as a "short, stocky man with whitish-grey hair." The same car had been reported seen near where the body was dumped. Samples taken from Tutill's body and clothing were analysed at the time, but provided no evidence except that the suspect was of either 'A' or 'O'

blood group A blood type (also known as a blood group) is based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycoli ...

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

was called in to assist in the investigation, but there were no breaks in the case. The investigation remained open and was regularly reviewed. Detectives, however, held the belief that the perpetrator was a repeat offender and the murder was not a random act. In the 1970s, investigators travelled to Scotland to interview a man named Brian Lunn Field from

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

, West Midlands, who had been sentenced to two years in prison for the attempted abduction and

indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broa ...

of a 14-year-old boy in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. In December 1996, a partial

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

sample was recovered from samples taken from Tutill's trousers, which had been kept in a freezer. In the late 1990s, a national review was held to investigate unsolved murders and see if any could be traced to current convicts or other crimes. Investigators in the Tutill case became aware of assaults of two young boys in Scotland. They were not able to locate Field, who had last been heard of in the 1980s. In 2000, a match was made of the DNA sample from the Tutill case that was matched to Field, who had DNA taken when arrested for

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

in September 1999 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Field had been working as a gardener and not paying any

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

. Surrey Police set up

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

on Field in Birmingham. His

criminal record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...

included a 1969 fine for

gross indecency Gross indecency is a crime in some parts of the English-speaking world, originally used to criminalize sexual activity between men that fell short of sodomy, which required penetration. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the ...

, the 1970s assault in Aberdeen, and two sentences in the 1980s of four years each for two counts of unlawful sex with underage boys and falsely imprisoning two teenage boys.

Arrest and confession

On 21 February 2001, police arrested Field at his flat in Birmingham. He was held in

police custody Police custody may refer to: * Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken in ...

during which time his detention was extended for more than the initial 24 hours in order to assist the investigation. Field denied knowing Tutill or having anything to do with his death, and whilst admitting to his historic

sexual offence Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

s against boys said he had put that behaviour behind him. Just before Field was put into his cell for a third night he had been asked to submit DNA samples. Field could not sleep that night, and the following day he confessed in detail to the abduction, rape and murder of Tutill. He said he had seen the boy get off a bus and thumb for a lift, and that he had picked him up. He then drove the boy to a

layby A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway ser ...

where he anally raped him over the front seat and, when he finished, panicked. Field drove to a second layby and strangled Tutill by wrapping a rope around his neck twice. He kept the boy's body in his car's

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

for several days before dumping him in woodland.

Sentence

On 15 November 2001, 65-year-old Field was sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

for the murder of Tutill. He pleaded guilty to murder, but not sexual assault. Tutill's parents did not live to see his murderer sentenced. Until Field was convicted, Tutill's murder had been the only unsolved

child murder Pedicide, also known as child murder, child manslaughter or child homicide, is the homicide of an individual who is a Age of majority, minor. In many legal jurisdictions, it is considered an Aggravation (law), aggravated form of homicide. The a ...

case in Surrey. Field died in prison in February 2024, aged 87.

References

External links