Colette Aram (3 February 1967 – 30 October 1983) was a 16-year-old

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trainee hairdresser who was abducted, raped and strangled as she walked from her home to her boyfriend's house in

Keyworth Keyworth is a large Village of Nottinghamshire, England. It is located about 6 miles (11 km) southeast of the centre of Nottingham. It sits on a small, broad hilltop about 200 feet above sea level which is set in the wider undulating bould ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, on 30 October 1983. The murder was the first case to be featured on the

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television series ''

Crimewatch ''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was or ...

'' when it began in June 1984. However, despite receiving over 400 calls as a result of the programme,

Nottinghamshire Police Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands area of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million. ...

were unable to catch the killer, and it was not until 2008 and following advances in forensic technology that police were able to develop a

DNA profile DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a Forensic DNA ...

of the suspect. Paul Stewart Hutchinson was finally charged with the murder in April 2009. He initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea to guilty on 21 December 2009 and was sentenced to life imprisonment on 25 January 2010. Following his sentencing, ''Crimewatch'' ran a recap of the murder and investigation on BBC TV on 27 January 2010 exposing several inaccuracies reported in the press about his background, notably a lie about being a psychology graduate.

Disappearance and investigation

Colette Aram left her home in Normanton Lane, Keyworth, shortly after 8:00p.m. on 30October1983 to walk the to her boyfriend's house. She was usually collected by her boyfriend, but his car was off the road. She was last seen at about 8:10p.m. turning into Nicker Hill where she stopped to talk to a group of friends, and witnesses reported hearing a woman screaming followed by a car driving off at speed shortly afterwards. The alarm was raised when she did not arrive at her boyfriend's house, and after a series of frantic phone calls, police were called at 10:30p.m. to help family and friends search for Aram. At 9:00a.m. the following morning her naked body was found dumped in a field about a mile and a half from where she had been abducted. She had been

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

and strangled. Police launched a murder investigation, and on 7June1984 the murder of Colette Aram was the first case to be featured on the newly launched

television series ''

'', a programme which reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from members of the public. As a result of the appeal, police received 400tip-offs and were able to eliminate 1,500suspects from their enquiries. However, the killer remained at large. The case was featured for a second time on Crimewatch's 20th anniversary show in 2004. In 2008, advances in forensic technology allowed

to put together a DNA profile of the killer, and officers appealed for members of the public to come forward with the names of suspects who could then be DNA tested using a mouth swab. A similar appeal had been made in the hunt for the M25 rapist and had proved successful. Police received more than 100calls from members of the public.

Arrest of suspect

In June 2008 a young man, Jean-Paul Hutchinson, was arrested on a motoring charge. DNA swabs are routinely taken from anyone who is arrested, and his DNA was a near identical match to the profile of the killer of Colette Aram. However, Jean-Paul was only 20 years old at the time of his arrest and DNA swab, so he had not been born at the time of the murder. The match provided the police with the breakthrough needed to solve the case. Paul Stewart Hutchinson, father of Jean-Paul and then aged 50, was arrested and charged with the murder in April 2009. Initially, Hutchinson tried to blame the murder on his late brother Gerhard (or Gerard), who had died in January 2008 and been cremated, but DNA tests ruled Gerhard (or Gerard) out, as his DNA was held on an hospital blood sample and didn't match that left at the scene. Hutchinson was held on remand after his arrest and entered a plea of not guilty on 5 October, but changed his plea to guilty at a pre-trial hearing on 21 December 2009.

Sentencing and death

On 25January2010, Hutchinson was jailed for life with a minimum of 25years at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

for the murder of Colette Aram. Aram's mother, Jacqui Kirkby, said Hutchinson's sentencing brought some relief, but the family next needed to know why she was murdered – a question Hutchinson refused to answer. At 8:00a.m. on 10October2010, 9 months after his sentencing and after 18 months in custody, Hutchinson was found unconscious in his cell at Nottingham Prison. Paramedics were called and tried to resuscitate him. He died at 9:58a.m. in an ambulance on the way to hospital. It is believed he took an overdose of medication, but a post mortem examination was inconclusive. Hutchinson's daughter told the inquest he had asked his wife to come and meet him in prison the day before he died, but she did not attend the meeting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aram, Colette 1980s in Nottinghamshire 1983 in England 1983 murders in the United Kingdom Deaths by strangulation Female murder victims Formerly missing people Incidents of violence against girls Incidents of violence against women Kidnapped British people Kidnappings in England Murder in Nottinghamshire October 1983 crimes October 1983 events in the United Kingdom Rape in England Rushcliffe Violence against women in England Keyworth

Disappearance and investigation

Arrest of suspect

Sentencing and death

See also

References