Angela Pearce Leeds murder 20 years on: '˜The day she died changed my life forever'

A vulnerable and trusting teenage girl, tortured for days on end in a Leeds flat by a feral gang before being killed and buried in a shallow grave.

That was the horrific fate which befell 18-year-old Angela Pearce in 1998, in a crime that left her home city appalled.

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Now, 20 years to the day since the discovery of Angela’s body in a disused cemetery in Mabgate, her family have spoken to the Yorkshire Evening Post about the pain and grief they still feel.

Her mum, Irene Simmons, said “never a day goes by” when they do not think of her – and branded as “scum” the five young murderers who snuffed out her life to get their hands on her jewellery and enjoy cheap, twisted kicks.

The family’s agony at losing Angela was compounded in the most tragic circumstances four years ago when her younger sister, Nicola, died aged 32.

Mrs Simmons, 64, from East End Park, says Nicola “never got over” the murder of her sister, who was diagnosed with mental health problems in her mid-teens.

The grieving mum says she also has to live with the knowledge that three of Angela’s killers are now free, with the other two expected to be moved to an open prison shortly. Speaking to the YEP on behalf of her ex-husband, Angela’s dad Stephen Pearce, and the rest of her family, Mrs Simmons said: “It feels like only yesterday [that we lost her] and there is never a day goes by without us thinking about our darling daughter, although it is hard to think about the good times because of what they did to her.

“Our family are still traumatised and angry about the scum who tortured Angela to death, all for her jewellery and their own gratification.”

Paying tribute to her daughter, Mrs Simmons said: “Angela was a beautiful, fun loving girl and always had a smile.

“She had a good sense of humour and loved buying clothes and jewellery.

“Angela has left us with a hole in our hearts that never heals. The day she died changed my life forever.

“If she was here today, you would be able to hear her laughter all over the house – even when she was ill, she managed to make us smile.”

Mrs Simmons added: “When Angela went missing, her mental health was a real concern, so she will have been really vulnerable when they came across her and lured her to the flat.”

Angela’s killers were Mark Francom, Christopher Bevis, Nolene Harker and sisters Claire and Meina Latif.

They were all aged between 17 and 23 at the time of their conviction in 1999.

Mrs Simmons said she had been informed by the authorities that Harker and the Latif sisters had recently been released from jail.

A move to an open prison, meanwhile, beckons for Francom and Bevis.

CASE HISTORY

ANGELA Pearce’s nightmare began when she was lured to a high-rise flat at Cherry Court in the Lincoln Green area of Leeds on April 8 in 1998.

The official tenant at the flat was Claire Latif but her younger sister Meina had recently also moved in, as had Nolene Harker.

Meina Latif’s boyfriend Mark Francom often stayed there, as did Christopher Bevis.

All five, apart from Meina Latif and Harker, had a history of thieving and robbery. All were at the flat when the six days of violence inflicted on Angela started.

She was repeatedly kicked and stamped on, hit in the face with an iron, had cigarettes stubbed out on her, struck with a snooker cue, given disinfectant to drink and put into a kitchen cupboard where she spent the last few days of her life.

The teenager was urinated on and had her hair singed when hairspray was sprayed towards her and set alight to act like a flame-thrower.

Her gold jewellery was taken from her and attempts made to sell it on.

She died with a plastic bag placed over her head and was buried on a piece of grassland in Mabgate, on the edge of Leeds city centre.

It was there that police, acting on a tip-off, found her battered body under eight inches of soil and twigs 20 years ago today.