Nicola Payne

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

West Midlands (POLICE)

Missing From:

Coventry, England

Summary:

Nicola Payne went missing in Coventry in 1991 when walking to visit her parents. At the age of 18, Nicola was the mother to her seven-month-old son, Owen, and was looking forward to experiencing her first Christmas as a family, alongside her boyfriend, Jason Cooke. She has never been found, and her disappearance remains one of the UK's longest unsolved cases.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On 14th December 1991, a foggy winter morning in Coventry, Nicola left Owen with Jason at his home on Winston Avenue. She planned to visit her parents, Marilyn and John, who lived just a short walk away, to collect some clothing for Owen. Nicola set off on foot, walking through wasteland known as Black Pad. When Nicola did not arrive after 30 minutes, her father John Payne became concerned and started looking for her. He could not find her and called police. They joined in the search 2.5 hours later. She is thought to have walked across a patch of land known as the Black Pad - but never arrived at her parents' house.

Additional Details:

West Midlands Police launched one of the biggest investigations Coventry has ever seen with more than 80 detectives working to find her. Sniffer dogs were called to the scene while a police helicopter hovered overhead. Members of the community helped in the search. On December 17, 1991, police arrested former warehouse worker Nigel Barwell and his brother-in-law Thomas O'Reilly, but they claimed they were 14 miles away in Rugby, Warwickshire at the time. The two were released after witnesses failed to pick them out of a police lineup in March 1992. In November 2007, police arrested Malcolm Brannan, 37, from Derbyshire on suspicion of the abduction and murder of Nicola Payne. Brannan lived on Winston Avenue in 1991. While working on his car, he saw Nicola walking towards Black Pad the day she disappeared. He was released on bail pending further inquiries. In March 2008, police dug up his yard, but found nothing, and no further action was taken against him. April 1996: Police excavate the garden of a property in Woodway Lane, acting on a tip-off, but after 12 hours of searching nothing is found. Summer 2001: Part of the Oxford Canal, in Ansty, is dredged after a witness comes forward with fresh information, but nothing is found. September 2001: Bones are found near to where Nicola disappeared but turn out to be animal remains. January 2015: Nigel Barwell, aged 51, of Copperas Street, Aldermans Green, and Thomas O'Reilly, aged 50, of Ribble Road, Stoke, are charged with the murder of Nicola Payne. Nigel Barwell and Thomas O'Reilly, both 51, were cleared of murdering Nicola Payne after a judge described the original investigation into Miss Payne's disappearance – which had identified the defendants as major suspects – as 'sloppy'. The jury deliberated for three days before retuning with a verdict, finding both Barwell and O'Reilly not guilty of Nicola's murder. During the trial, it emerged that police lost key pieces of evidence from the investigation. In the wake of the trial, police announced that the case would remain open, and the next year, they resumed the search for Nicola's body. A £100,000 reward for information which leads to the recovery of Nicola's body remains on offer - which the family increased from £30,000 in 2018. March 2023: Nicola Payne's mum Marilyn dies without ever finding her daughter. May 2023: Prime Video streams a new docu-series, 'The Never Ending Murder', about Nicola's disappearance.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 29, 2026