Murder of Ann Heron

Ann Heron was a British woman who was murdered on 3 August 1990 at her home in Darlington, County Durham, by an unidentified killer. The case was heavily featured in British media as well as on the BBC programme Crimewatch in October 1990, but her murder remains unsolved. Her husband, who was having an affair at the time, was charged with her murder in 2005 after his semen was found in samples taken from Heron's throat, but the case was subsequently dropped due to lack of evidence. He claims he has an alibi but police feel he cannot adequately account for his movements for the crucial part of the day. He remains a suspect in the case. In 2020, a private investigator claimed that Michael Benson, an escaped prisoner who was on the run in Hampshire at the time, was a possible suspect. Jen Jarvie had watched the October 1990 edition of Crimewatch that featured Heron's murder and then watched the following month's edition, concluding that one of the criminals featured fitted her profile of the killer. However, Durham Constabulary investigated the alleged links to Benson and found there was no evidence to place Benson in the area at the time of the murder, and also revealed that they were "all but certain" he was living abroad at the time of the attack. Durham Constabulary eliminated Benson from their enquiries, concluding that he "is not and never has been a suspect".