Natalie Pearman

Status:

Open

Offense Location:

Norwich, Norfolk, England

Summary:

Natalie Jane Pearman was a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Norwich, England, who was found dead in a lay-by on Ringland Road on 20 November 1992. She had been working as a prostitute in the red-light district of Norwich. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. Despite extensive investigation involving over 4,000 interviews and DNA profiling of nearly 700 men, her killer has never been identified, and the case remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Natalie was last sighted alive in Rouen Road, Norwich at 1:15am on 20 November 1992. At 3:50am on Friday 20 November 1992, a lorry driver en route to work discovered the body of a girl in a lay-by at Ringland Road, on the outskirts of Norwich, Norfolk. The location where Natalie's body was found is some 5 miles distant from the area she had been working as a prostitute. A post-mortem examination established that she had taken part in vaginal intercourse with at least three different males on the night of November 19th and before 3:45 am on November 20th, 1992. A Post Mortem examination revealed that Natalie had died from Asphyxia. Natalie was murdered sometime in the early hours of the 20th of November 1992, between 0115 am and 0350 am.

Additional Details:

Forensic swabs revealed that semen was present in her body and on her under body garments and a DNA crime stain was obtained and loaded onto the national DNA database. Work is still being carried out to identify whose DNA was found on Natalie. The subsequent investigation has interviewed over four thousand people and a large number of men have provided samples for direct DNA testing. To date the DNA profile obtained from the semen has not been matched despite a general search carried out with the National DNA Database. Following an anniversary appeal into the murder of Natalie Pearman, five new persons of interest have been identified. Police are in the process of taking DNA samples from all men which will be run against DNA that was recovered from the crime scene. This case has never been closed and been subject to reviews since 1992. Cold case manager Andy Guy said: "We had an encouraging response to the 25 year anniversary appeal regarding Natalie's death with 56 calls and emails coming into our office". A short film featuring a selection of photos of Natalie as a younger child has been created to mark the 30th anniversary. Natalie's younger sister Georgina has released family photos of the Norwich teenager, ahead of the 30th anniversary on Sunday, stating "Natalie was only 16 when she died. 30 years is a long time, it's long enough and it's time for someone to tell the police the truth." The 25-anniversary appeal in 2017 received 56 telephone calls and emails and, as a result, 11 new DNA profiles were taken from men whose names had been put forward as being potentially involved.

Case Last Updated:

Nov 04, 2026