MYSTERY has surrounded one of Northumberland’s most notorious murders for decades, but a crime writer claims to have shed some light on the death of Evelyn Foster.

Diane Janes has revisited the murder case of Evelyn Foster, a taxi driver, who was killed on a lonely road near Otterburn in January, 1931.

Intrigued by the case, Diane managed to get access to police files which revealed secrets she said have never been uncovered before.

Evelyn was found 70ft from the road crawling out of her burning car. She managed to explain what had happened to her before she died.

She said she had been working on the bitterly cold night when, on a journey back towards Otterburn from Belsay, her male passenger attacked her and took control of the car.

Her car, destroyed after being set on fire, was found off-road on a sharp bend, Wolf’s Nick.

Before she died, she described her attacker as 5ft 8ins and dressed in an overcoat and a bowler hat.

The case was never solved, but has been featured in various documentaries and crime novels over the past 86 years.

Diane, who has written novels on other historical cases, was drawn to this particular story and determined to get to the bottom of it.

“I was drawn to it because it was such an interesting case,” she explained.

“There were questions over whether it was actually a murder at all; people felt she was not telling the truth, saying she made it up to claim on her insurance and all sorts.

“I wanted to finally get some justice for Evelyn.

“She was badly treated as a young woman and perhaps evidence was treated less seriously because she was a woman. I have a very strong sense of wanting to put it right for her, even after all this time.”

She managed to get exclusive access to police files, which included witness statements and details of how the investigation had been carried out.

“No-one else has read through this since the case was closed in the 1930s, so it was a marvellous opportunity,” she said.

“Sometimes when you look through these files, there’s not anything that’s not already known, but in this case, a lot of information that hadn’t come out was in there, which made me more determined.

“There is information about a man who is a credible suspect who has never been in the frame before. He may be the guilty party and that information was in the files.

“For various reasons it wasn’t possible to bring a case against him, but I believe information has been there all along.”

Diane said some police officers were determined to find the man, but some involved in the case questioned Evelyn’s character and even suggested she was lying.

An inquest was held into her death when the coroner directed the jury not to return a verdict of murder.

But jury members, who were local people who knew Evelyn well, ignored his advice and returned a murder verdict.

And Diane will revisit Otterburn Memorial Hall, where the inquest was held, next week for her official book launch.

She has penned Death at Wolf’s Nick: The Killing of Evelyn Foster , and while all of the witness statements do not appear in the book, she hopes people will come along to the launch to find out what their relatives were doing that night.

“Lots and lots of people gave witness statements. I have that detail which I’m going to bring with me,” she said.

“On the night, people will be able to see them and I will look to see if their relatives gave a statement.

“It’s not actually just Otterburn involved because the murder involved a road journey that stretched miles, so there were people who gave statements from Kirkwhelpington, Knowesgate and West Woodburn.

“It was a very far reaching inquiry; the house to house inquiries and collecting statements went on for a long time.”

She added: “I want this book to help dispel some rumours which have been hanging like a shadow over that community for a long time.

“Although she was treated badly, one of the myths was that all of the police who investigated it were incompetent. They were actually really dedicated officers putting in 14 and 15 hour days, and I’m really hoping some of the officers’ relatives come along on the night too.”

Death at Wolf’s Nick: The Killing of Evelyn Foster from Mirror Books is available now at £7.99.

The book launch is on Friday, June 16, at Otterburn Memorial Hall. Doors open at 7pm.