What happened to Janet Commins in 1976, why was the cold case reopened and who is Stephen Hough?
She was brutally raped and murdered in 1976 when she was just 15 years old
JANET Commins stormed out of her family home after an argument with her mum in 1976 and didn't return - four days later her body was found revealing the 15-year-old had been brutally murdered.
Stephen Hough, 57, has been found guilty 41 years after the schoolgirl's murder thanks to DNA evidence held in 1976, and sentenced to 12 years in jail.
What happened to Janet Commins?
Janet Commins from north Wales was just 15 years old when she was brutally raped and murdered.
She had stormed out of her family home after rowing with her mum on January 7, 1976.
She left a note in her bedroom saying she was going to the local swimming baths and would return at 8.30pm, but was never again seen alive.
Janet’s father Ted Commins searched the town for her when she failed to arrive home at 10pm that night, before reporting her missing to police at around 11pm.
Her disappearance sparked one of the region’s biggest manhunts at the time.
But four days after she was last seen, her body was discovered under a hedge in Flint by three young children out walking their dog.
She was fully clothed, but her shoes were found about a hundred yards away.
A post-mortem found she had been brutally sexually assaulted.
Who is Stephen Hough?
Stephen Hough was 17 years old at the time of the alleged murder and is believed to have lived in Flint when Janet died.
He has never previously been quizzed by officers in connection with her death, but was arrested in September 2016 more than 200 miles away in Essex after new evidence was discovered.
Hough, an ex-soldier, was then charged with Janet's rape and murder.
Although he denied even knowing Janet, the 58 year-old was found guilty after the jury were told the odds of new DNA evidence being from anybody else were a billion-to-one.
He was jailed for 12 years after being convicted of rape, buggery and manslaughter – he was cleared of a charge of murder.
Why was the cold case reopened 40 years on?
North Wales Police say "signifiant developments" had been made in the time since Janet's death, which have helped with the murder enquiry.
This led to officers executing warrants at two addresses in Flint on September 5.
They then arrested Hough on suspicion of murder and rape.
Senior Investigating Officer Det Supt Iestyn Davies of North Wales Police said: “There have been significant developments to assist police investigations of this nature in the past 40 years and significant changes in the way we approach murder investigations.
The probe into Janet's death has now been forwarded to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Officers quizzed more than 4,000 people while hunting for her killer.
A man was previously jailed for manslaughter after admitting responsibility for her death.
