Who was Shani Warren and what happened to ‘The Lady in the Lake’?

A Channel 5 documentary explores how a forensic breakthrough solved the mystery surrounding the death of Shani Warren in 1987.

But who was Shani Warren and what happened to her? From the details of her death to why she was called The Lady in the Lake - here’s everything you need to kno

Who was Shani Warren?

Shani Warren was 26 years old when her body was pulled from the Berkshire beauty spot, Taplow Lake, on April 18, 1987.

Pete Bierne, who led the Major Crime Review Team that finally brought Shani’s killer to justice, described her as ‘’a lovely, gregarious young woman’’.

He said: ‘’Shani was a lovely, gregarious young woman that was incredibly sociable, had lots of friends and everything to live for.’’

What happened to Shani Warren?

Looking forward to the long Easter weekend in 1987, Shani left her home around 6pm to buy an Easter egg and card for ex-boyfriend Roger Pell, with whom she still had a close relationship.

The following day, a woman who was walking a dog at the lake spotted a body in the water.

After making the discovery, the witness ran to a nearby road to flag down motorist Steven Reed, who waded into the water and dragged her to the bank before calling the police.

Shani's feet were bound with a car tow rope, her hands tied behind her back with a red jump lead, and a blue material gag was in her mouth. 

Police divers also found a black jump lead, tied like a noose. 

On the bank, the only footprints the police found were made by Shani’s stiletto heels.

Also discovered was Shani’s vehicle - parked in a layby beside the busy A4.

Shani’s car was discovered locked apart from the driver’s door, with the seat fully reclined.

The Easter egg was found in a Bunce’s newsagents bag on the floor.

Former officer Chris Edgerly, who was among the first on the scene, said: ‘’The whole situation seemed to be an obvious murder.’’

However, when pathologist Dr B.T. Davis arrived at the scene, he came to a different conclusion.

Chris said: ‘’[Davis] looked across the lake to where this body was, and you couldn't see much from where he was. And he said, ‘It looks like she's done it herself.’’

He added: ‘’To the untrained eye, it appears obvious there was third party involvement.

"But because the bindings, particularly around her hands, were, in his view, so loose and so amateurish, the person who tied them was not deliberately trying to render someone incapable."

Because she was fully dressed and had no physical signs of a struggle, Dr Davis also concluded Shani had not been sexually assaulted, meaning a vital mouth swab was not taken. 

A female officer, Sarah Haskell, even attempted to tie herself up into similar bindings and found it “nearly impossible” without assistance.

Thames Valley police continued to investigate the possibility of foul play but, at the inquest Dr Davis - who has since died - insisted: “The young lady’s tying up of the wrists and ankles was so amateurish that I can’t imagine any assailant attempting to tie her up in that particular way.”

Knot expert Geoffrey Budworth, who gave evidence at the inquest, said it was “possible” Shani had tied her own hands together using the loose knot but acknowledged it was “hard to imagine” she could strangle herself with the jump lead ligature because it would have slackened as soon as she lost consciousness.

The inquest recorded an open verdict.

Why was Shani Warren called The Lady in the Lake?

As mentioned above, on April 18, 1987, a woman was walking her dog around Taplow Lake on a regular evening stroll.

The dog showed an unusual interest in an object in the water, which turned out to be the body of Shani.

This led to the case being dubbed "The Lady of the Lake".

Ten years after Shani’s body was discovered, Thames Valley re-examined the case after a string of attacks on women across the country, many of which shared similarities to Shani’s case.

However, it would be another 23 years before a new breakthrough led the cold case team closer to finding answers.

Thanks to advancements in technology, Dr Ros Hammond was able to identify a spot of male blood on the material used to gag Shani.

It was also discovered that there was semen present, as well as male DNA on the material of Shani’s bra.

This led investigating officers to convicted sex offender Donald Robertson, who lived minutes from Bunce’s newsagents - where he is thought to have abducted Shani as she wrote a card to ex Roger.

In November 2021, Robertson was charged with Shani's murder.

In May 2022, he was found guilty and given a 30-year-minimum term life sentence.Robertson, who has been in jail for multiple sex offences since 2007, had been eligible to apply for parole when he was convicted of Shani’s murder and the rape of a 16-year-old.