Vera Anderson

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

cheshire-constabulary

Offense Location:

Widnes, Cheshire

Summary:

Veronica 'Vera' Anderson was a 42-year-old fun-loving and family-oriented mother of two who was found dead in her blue Ford Cortina off Tannery Lane in Penketh, Warrington, shortly after 3am on August 25, 1991. She had been strangled and had her throat slashed. Despite numerous and lengthy enquiries plus multiple appeals, her killer has never been traced.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Mum-of-two Veronica Anderson, known as Vera, left her home in Widnes at 10.10pm on Saturday, August 24, 1991, after receiving a phone call. She dashed out without taking her purse and leaving the television on, dropping her then seven-year-old son with a neighbour, saying that she would only be gone for 10 minutes. At around 10.30pm a woman matching Vera's description was sighted in the Crown and Cushion pub in Penketh. Police believe she was killed between 10.45pm and 11.15pm on August 24. Just hours after, at around 3am on Sunday, August 25, 1991, her body was found slumped over the steering wheel of her blue Ford Cortina car at Penketh Tannery. The 42-year-old's throat had been slashed, and she had been strangled. The killer had cut Vera's throat after probably first rendering her unconscious with a sash cord pulled tight around her neck.

Additional Details:

She ran her own sandwich business delivering to businesses and offices, was a 'bubbly kind of person' who 'everybody liked', and was one of the few female regulars at the Roll Inn Truck Shop and Motel, in Widnes, Cheshire. At the time of her death Vera had been seeing a trucker for about three years. The man, who has been eliminated from inquiries, had stayed overnight at her home on August 23, 1991. At 6am on the following Saturday she drove him to the Roll Inn and he got into his cab and returned to his home. The attack was neither sexual nor a robbery and police have since said the level and nature of the violence used had all the hallmarks of a hitman. The killer also tore a large piece of Vera's hair from her scalp either before, during or after the attack. No murder weapon was found at the scene, but found nearby was a single blood-stained cotton glove, and a length of sash cord – similar to the type used to tie back curtains. In the footwell of Vera's car police recovered a cartridge from a blank firing handgun. Detectives believe a pistol may have been discharged to frighten Vera and stop her from fleeing her vehicle. The car is thought to have been driven by the killer and was the style of a Talbot Horizon, Datsun Cherry, Vauxhall Astra or Mitsubishi. In March 2022, a 70-year-old man from Widnes and a 61-year-old woman from Warrington were arrested on suspicion of murder. Two people were arrested on suspicion of her murder on March 23, 2022 but they were both released and no longer under investigation. Her daughter, Lorraine, was 19 and pregnant at the time, while her son, Neil, was just seven years old. In August 1991, when Lorraine was just 19 years old and pregnant with her first child, she had the tragic and haunting task of identifying her mother's body. In September 2024, Vera's daughter Lorraine Newton made a fresh plea for justice, saying she still hoped that one day the culprit will get the justice they deserve.

Case Last Updated:

May 12, 2026