Kate Bushell

Status:

Open

Offense Location:

Exwick, Exeter, Devon

Summary:

Kate Bushell, 14, was murdered as she walked a neighbour's dog near her home in Exwick, Exeter on Saturday 15 November 1997, suffering a savage knife wound to her throat. Her body was discovered by her father in a field off of Exwick Lane - just 300 yards from her home. As of 2025, the case remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Kate began her final day like many other Saturdays. She went into Exeter shopping with her mum Suzanne buying a CD at Virgin Megastore and a comic book for her older brother Tim's birthday. She spent the afternoon at her home in Burrator Drive before setting off around 4.30pm to walk a neighbour's Jack Russell, Gemma, while her owners were away. She was last seen alive at 4.50pm by a layby towards the Whitestone Cross end of Exwick Lane. Witnesses remember seeing her and Gemma but also spotting a small blue car parked in the nearby stables layby with a man stood with it. At 5.30pm, a small dog believed to be Gemma was seen running loose from a gateway in Exwick Lane at the base of the field where Kate's body was found. At 6 p.m., with Bushell having not returned home and it being dark, her mother and father drove up the lane in their car to search for her, and also contacted the police. They then searched the footpaths through the adjacent fields and at 7:30 p.m. her father found Gemma, and then saw that Bushell was lying dead next to her. She suffered a severe throat wound from a knife with a blade at least six inches long.

Additional Details:

The death of the St Thomas High School pupil prompted Operation Deakin, one of the largest and longest running unsolved murder enquiries by Devon and Cornwall Police. More than 160 detectives and staff were initially deployed to the case in 1997, with more than 5,000 house-to-house interviews conducted and over 5,000 DNA samples taken from individuals in the Exwick and Exeter area. Three suspects have been interviewed and released without charge. Orange clothing fibres – from a material predominantly used in non-fluorescent workwear such as boiler suits, aprons and gloves – were found on Kate's body and a nearby country stile. The wound to her throat had been administered by a large knife with a six-inch blade, most likely a standard kitchen knife. The murder weapon was never found. It didn't appear as though Kate had been raped, though an attempted rape could not be ruled out, as her clothing was reportedly 'disordered.' Three suspicious figures were reported as being near the scene by witnesses: a vagrant, a man with a blue car parked on Exwick Lane yards from the murder site, and a man seen running from the scene. The man by the blue car was described as white, aged between 30 and 40, of average build and height, clean shaven with dark collar length hair. Several witnesses also saw a man running fast in the Farm Hill/Cornflower Hill area of Exwick between 5pm and 7pm. On the 20th anniversary of Kate's death in 2017 the Force launched an investigative review alongside a major public appeal for the information. The review, led by Detective Superintendent Paul Burgan, generated 204 calls and messages into the incident room, identifying 10 new lines of enquiry. Police investigating the unsolved murder of schoolgirl Kate Bushell are working on 40 new lines of enquiry following an anniversary appeal and a £20,000 reward. So far more than 40 pieces of new information have been received from the UK public. More than 800 mourners attended Kate's funeral and a memorial water garden was opened at St Thomas High School, now West Exe School, by her friends on the first anniversary of her death in November 1998. Kate was a popular and very bright girl with aspirations to go to Oxford University. She loved playing basketball and was heavily involved with the church.

Case Last Updated:

Sep 14, 2026