The Naval community has been asked to help with a murder investigation which has been re-opened 17 years after the crime was committed.

Linda Cook, aged 24, was sexually assaulted and murdered on an area of wasteland known as Merry Row in Portsmouth in the early hours of Tuesday December 9, 1986.

Miss Cook, who was walking from a friend’s house in Sultan Road, Buckland, to her home in Victoria Road South, Southsea, was attacked on the waste ground just off Lake Road in Landport.

Her partially-clothed body was found later that day, and a post mortem revealed that she had been asphyxiated. She had also suffered a fractured jaw and spinal injuries, and the distinctive imprint of the sole of a training shoe had been left on her skin.

This imprint was one of the main lines of inquiry – leading to the case being dubbed the Cinderella murder – and it helped lead to the conviction of 19-year-old sailor Michael Shirley, who had been on shore leave that evening from his ship HMS Apollo.

Mr Shirley, of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, served some 16 years in prison – always maintaining his innocence – before being freed by the Court of Appeal in July this year when the conviction was found to be unsafe.

Now – 17 years to the day since the murder – Hampshire Police have re-opened the case under the title Operation Eckford, using DNA as a focal point, and they have issue a plea to anyone with any recollections of the events of that time to come forward.

And although they are no suggestion that anyone in the Royal Navy at the time was responsible for the murder – and Michael Shirley is not a suspect – police chiefs hope that someone serving in the city in late 1986 may be able to provide a vital clue.

At a press conference in Portsmouth yesterday, Det Supt Alan Betts, who is leading the new investigation, admitted there are obstacles in their way.

“This will not be a conventional investigation,” he said. “We no longer have a scene where the murder and sexual assault took place.

“We have no house-to-house inquiries to conduct, and we have none of the modern technology, such as closed circuit TV, which we would follow up in a murder inquiry today.

“We will have to work with what was collected all those years ago. This may cause problems.

“Some evidence may have degraded over time. Scenes of crime work has advanced in the last 17 years, and there may have been things we would have recovered today that were not recovered at the time.

“Witnesses’ memories are likely to have been eroded.

“We may not be starting off from a strong position, but we do have the opportunity to do a planned re-investigation for which we can recruit staff, who were not involved in the original investigation, specifically for the job.

“We also will be able to use today’s techniques on 17-year-old evidence.

“If you were in Portsmouth in 1986, do you have any information about the murder of Linda Cook that you did not give police at the time?

“Has anyone spoken in the past about the murder? Do you know someone who may have been involved? It may well be worth contacting police about it now. We urge you to come forward.”

Det Supt Betts said it was possible that allegiances and friendships which were in place in 1986 no longer existed, and that someone may have information which they may think insignificant, but that the police would regard as crucial.

With regards the Navy connection, Chief Supt John James said: “We are not looking a suspect in the Navy, but there was obviously a large transient population from the Navy in the city at that period, and it’s possible one of them may have information which could help us.

“We appeal to anyone in the city serving in the Navy at the time – is there anything they think they ought to be sharing with us?”

Anyone who can help with information is asked to contact the Eastern Major Crime Team at Fratton on 0845 045 4545.

Both Miss Cook’s family and Michael Shirley were informed before the case was re-opened, and were said to be “very supportive.”