Who killed Hannah? The Horsenden Hill mystery
It was a winter’s night, with all that entailed. Freezing cold, inky dark, spots of chilling rain.
Hannah Deterville, 15, was in her home neighbourhood on the Harrow Road in Queen’s Park, north west London.
She was wearing orange jeans, a grey bomber jacket and red Reebok trainers.
It was 2 January 1998.
Top of the Pops - still a TV fixture - was on the box, and a charity version of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, containing performances by Elton John, Bono and Heather Small from M People, was number one.
The charts also contained “Never Ever” by All Saints, “Angels” by Robbie Williams, “Barbie Girl” by Aqua and a novelty song by The Teletubbies.
At about 5pm Hannah’s mother, June, asked her to pop down to the wool shop in a nearby parade to buy some gold thread.
The shop assistant would later tell police she heard Hannah having an argument with a man outside but she would not tell her what had caused it.
Hannah returned to her home in Sixth Avenue with the thread but later asked her mum if she could go out.
It was a Friday night.
Her mum agreed but warned her not to be back late.
But she never came home.
Her body was found three weeks later, seven miles away on Horsenden Hill.
She had been stabbed 20 times.
Superintendent David Niccol, who led the murder inquiry, said at the time: "We cannot find a damn motive at all. What makes someone so livid with her to stab her so many times and continue stabbing her after death?”
“The effort that has gone into trying to hide her body, the severity of the wounds and the lack of any motive whatsoever makes it very unusual," he added.
In February 1999 the popular BBC show Crimewatch UK covered the case and interviewed Hannah’s mother June Deterville, who said of her daughter: “Today she wanted to be a doctor, tomorrow an actor, the next day a singer. She was young. At the end of the world her world was her oyster. She wanted to do everything.”
Despite the appeal, no strong leads came in and the case remains unsolved to this day, 26 years later.
Michael Nolan is a cold case and unsolved crimes blogger who has studied the Hannah Deterville case in detail.
Recently I went for a walk on Horsenden Hill with him and we talked about the case.
Michael (pictured above) told me: “My interest is very simple. She was 15 and murdered in an appalling way, and it is pissing me off after 26 years this poor girl has had no justice.”
Horsenden Hill is a small green enclave - between Greenford and Perivale - which has marvellous views of north west London, including the arches of Wembley Stadium.
In 1998 it was still the old Wembley. The World Cup stadium was only knocked down in 2003, with much of the rubble from the old place used to construct the man-made Northala hills of Northala Fields.
I recently contacted the Metropolitan Police press office about the case.
They said: “The body of 15-year-old Hannah Deterville was found in woodland in Horsenden Hill, west London on 24 January 1998.”
”She had been stabbed multiple times. The murder investigation remains unsolved and the case is not closed,” the Met added.
They said: “An anonymous call was made to a gay and lesbian helpline regarding the discovery of Hannah’s body. Despite extensive efforts police never managed to identify who made this call.”
The Met’s statement went on: “A significant amount of time has passed since Hannah’s body was found and police are still keen to hear from anyone - including the person who made this call - that could provide information to help identify whoever is responsible for Hannah’s murder.”
When I spoke with Michael Nolan, he pointed out a number of clues, and possible discrepancies which had appeared over the years regarding Hannah’s death and the discovery of her body.
He said he had seen press reports which said Hannah had been stabbed on the right side of her face and neck.
Michael said this might suggest she had been attacked while sitting in the passenger seat of a car.
He pointed out many of the original media reported the body was found after a caller to the gay and lesbian helpline rang in from a phone box on Friday 23 January.
Horsenden Hill was well known as a meeting place for “cottaging” - where gay men met for sexual encounters.
It was also stated the body was found around 9am on Sunday 25 January.
But the Met are saying she was found on 24 January. Is it possible she was found late on the Saturday night after a 24 hour search?
Michael also pointed out to me that another schoolgirl - 14-year-old Tracy Mead, was stabbed in February 1992 and drowned in the Grand Union canal in Kilburn.
He wonders if Hannah and Tracy may have been killed by the same man.
The Grand Union Canal runs almost directly from the Queen’s Park area - where Hannah lived - to the foot of Horsenden Hill, although it is highly unlikely she was transported by this route.
During the original police investigation, which was known as Operation Maidstone, detectives drew up a theory that Hannah was killed within 12 hours of vanishing but her body was kept for several days before being taken to Horsenden Hill.
Michael wonders if her body was kept in cold storage somewhere in the days after her death. Or considering it was winter, maybe it was just left in a shed or outhouse?
Because of the location, halfway up the hillside, the police surmised she must have been carried by at least two people.
But when we walked to the location we realised it was not that far from a car park (pictured below) and to drag the body up the hill from that point would not be be impossible for a strong, physically fit man.
One name which has been suggested as a possible killer is David Smith.
I remember being told by (now retired) Detective Chief Inspector Norman McKinlay that he suspected Smith of being involved in Hannah’s killing.
In December 1999 Smith, a 43-year-old lorry driver from Hampton in south west London, was jailed for life for murdering a 21-year-old sex worker - or as they were called at the time, prostitute - Amanda Walker.
Amanda had been picked up in Sussex Gardens, Paddington, on 25 April 1999 and her naked body was found at the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens in Wisley, Surrey a month later.
I covered Smith’s 1999 trial for the Amanda Walker murder (click here) and I remember one detail which I deliberately left out of my report for reasons of taste and decency.
Smith was said to be extremely well endowed but he told the court this had led to difficulties in his personal life, as many women could not cope with his manhood. He said this had forced him to seek the company of sex workers.
Smith had been acquitted - in 1993 - of murdering another sex worker, Sarah Crump, at her home in Lady Margaret Road, Southall.
She had been killed in August 1991.
In 2023 the police had enough evidence to put Smith on trial again for Sarah’s murder and he was finally convicted of her murder.
Smith, now 67, was jailed for life again and this time given a minimum term of 27 years.
What is interesting is that the family of Sarah Crump (pictured below) had no idea she was working for an escort agency.
Her sister said she thought she was doing it because she wanted to fund fertility treatment because of her “strong desire to become a mother.”
So is it possible Hannah, although only 15, was also selling sex?
Could she have been picked up in a red light district like Sussex Gardens in Paddington - where Amanda Walker was abducted a year later - by Smith, killed and then taken to Horsenden Hill?
Smith - who was nicknamed “Lurch” or “Honey Monster” by colleagues - was 6 feet 3 inches tall and would have had no difficulty carrying Hannah’s body up Horsenden Hill.
In May 2023, when he was convicted of Sarah’s Crump murder, the court heard he had an “escalating pattern of violent and sexual offending against women.”
He was obsessed with sex and had sexually mutilated both Amanda and Sarah.
But a post mortem on Hannah carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Nat Cary found she had not been raped and the police have never said she was sexually mutilated.
Maybe she was not. Or maybe the police omitted this detail so they could keep it to themselves and help weed out false confessions.
Michael is not convinced Smith was the culprit and thinks it is perhaps more likely the real killer was from Hannah’s neighbourhood, possibly even someone who knew her.
There have even been suggestions the police have faced a “wall of silence” when it comes to the case.
Michael says: “There are an awful lot of questions that have not been answered and unfortunately a lot of people are not talking.”
In the 1999 Crimewatch reconstruction there was mention of an eyewitness who saw three young black men walking down Horsenden Hill on the morning of Sunday 25 January 1998.
The witness said she thought it was “unusual” but Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross said the men may not have had anything to do with Hannah’s death.
But were they ever traced?
Hannah’s mother - who worked in the NHS - died in 2022, aged 61.
A former arts and crafts tutor, she had been a director of the Yaa Asantewaa community centre in Westbourne Park but resigned in February 1999.
She had also played a big part in designing the floats for the Notting Hill Carnival, an event her daughter always loved.
The police could not get justice for her during her life but they have not given up on finding the killer.
The Met say anyone with information can call 101, message them on what used to be called Twitter, or provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Or, if you are ultra-cautious, use a Proton account and email me at totalcrime@proton.me and I will pass it on without revealing your identity.