After Susan Wareing was brutally murdered at the hands of her killer Alan Edwards, her family breathed a sigh of relief as they watched him be jailed for life.
The cruel bully who had taken the life of their vulnerable sister was now behind bars - but the conviction still left questions in the minds of Susan's brother Peter and sister Karen.
Edwards had always denied murdering their sister and to this day refused to disclose where her body was. Four years after Susan was killed, Lancashire Police vowed they would never stop looking for Susan's body, as a new documentary, 'Sleeping with my Murderer' was aired on Channel 5.
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Appearing in the documentary, Susan's brother Peter and sister Karen spoke of the cheeky and naughty child they grew up with - and how her vulnerabilities pulled her away from them and into the hands of a manipulative killer.
Susan, who was 45 when she went missing, grew up in Darwen, with Karen, Peter and their sister Linda. At an early age it became clear Susan had learning difficulties and she was moved from mainstream education into a special school.
"She always acted younger than her years, but she was one of us", Peter said. "She always knew we were there if she needed us."
In addition to having learning difficulties, Susan was partially sighted and struggled with mobility. In her 20s she developed problems with drugs, which left her struggling to take care of herself. Susan became more secretive about the company she was keeping and her lifestyle set her apart from her family, LancsLive reports.
By the time she was reported missing, in January 2019, she had not been seen for around three weeks. As officers tried to piece together Susan's last movements, they checked hospitals, police custody suites and homeless shelters in the hope of finding Susan alive.
They learned Susan had started a new relationship with a man called Alan and had moved into his flat within a month of meeting him. Karen O'Reilly, Susan's sister, said: "She was always loved up when she entered a relationship. She always wanted to be loved."
It was the first the Wareing family knew of Susan's new romance, and when they saw photographs of Edwards on Facebook they were instantly suspicious. Edwards, a powerfully built bodybuilder, struck a stark contrast to Susan, who was clinically underweight and physically and emotionally fragile.
As they started asking friends and family about Edwards, they became more concerned. Susan's ex partner said Wareing was a heavy drug user who was known to be violent. Karen said: "He looked like trouble. I just didn't like the look of him."
Lancashire Police launched a public appeal asking for sightings of Susan. Det Insp Lukmaan Mulla headed up the investigation and received reports from Dumbarton in Scotland, where Susan had lived for a decade.
He learned that while living North of the border, Susan had battled with drugs, and following the sudden death of a partner had struggled to cope on her own. Her vulnerability was a magnet to drug users and dealers and her home was taken over in what police refer to as 'cuckooing'.
After a period in rehab, Susan managed to rid herself of her addictions and returned home, but when she refused the former associates entry to her flat, it was firebombed, and Susan was seriously injured.
"It was horrible seeing her lying there (in hospital) with tubes attached to her throat", Peter said. The family knew they had to take action and bring her home to Darwen, where they could take care of her.
Sadly, the new start in Lancashire saw Susan returning to her old ways. Suspecting she was back on drugs, her family confronted her, but Susan continued to deny she was using again. But while the investigations gave clues into Susan's lifestyle, officers were no nearer to finding her. Ten weeks after she was reported missing, officers launched a 'no body homicide' investigation, to search for signs of life.
They checked Susan's bank accounts and learned her usual pattern of withdrawing cash from ATMs had stopped. Her mobile phone activity had also stopped, and Susan, a prolific Facebook user, had not posted anything for weeks. Edwards was taken in for questioning and insisted he had no idea what had happened to his girlfriend. He said he had kissed her goodnight, then when he woke the next morning she was gone.
"I didn't believe that for a second", said Peter. "Susan didn't just walk off - she couldn't just walk off."
Officers also learned that in the week before she disappeared Susan had attended an appointment at her GP practice in Darwen, suffering facial injuries. Edwards also attended the appointment and said Susan had been jumped by a group of girls. The injuries were so severe the doctor told Susan to go to A&E, but there was no record of Susan ever going to hospital. When questioned about the injuries seen on Susan's face, Edwards said she had been "fighting with girls". He laughed as he told the police what had happened.
Det Insp Mulla suspected Edwards knew more than he was letting on. The killer's demeanour switched from answering questions directly to replying 'no comment' when the interview got tough. But with no body, and no solid evidence Edwards had killed Susan, they had no choice but to release him on bail. Safeguarding measures were put in place with officers monitoring Edwards' living arrangements and relationships.
A thorough search was carried out on the shabby one-bedroom flat where he had lived with Susan. The property, above a sandwich shop in Darwen, was described as "a hoarders paradise", littered with clothes, beer cans and clutter. There were no working lightbulbs in the property - but officers made a strange discovery.
In the weeks since their first visit, to investigate Susan's disappearance, the flat had been decorated. From the appearance of the place, it was clear Edwards was not a house proud man, but there was fresh paint and newly hung wallpaper. Investigators scratched beneath the surface, removing plumbing and flooring to try and find clues as to what had happened to Susan. They discovered flecks of blood behind the paint, on the sofa, the stairs and on Susan's glasses, which they also found at the flat.
A sinister Halloween mask had tiny blood spatters on the front, and Edwards' DNA on the inside. But while the clues pointed to Susan having been attacked, there was not enough evidence to charge Edwards with her murder. Detectives needed to do more. They looked into Edwards' criminal history, and while he did not have any significant convictions for domestic abuse, there had been reports and complaints from ex partners, which had never made it to court.
Det Insp Mulla said: "His ex partners disclosed horrific violence. One woman was so scared she had changed her name and another spent the first two hours of her interview crying. There was a pattern of behaviour. Initially he was very charming, very attentive, and a perfect partner. Once in a relationship, he turned very quickly."
As the search for Susan's body continued, officers began building a case against Edwards and in the summer of 2020 had enough to charge him. Four women gave evidence at the trial about his dominant and violent behaviour.
After 13 weeks of evidence, the jury at Preston Crown Court took just 90 minutes to convict Edwards of Susan's murder, along with 19 further charges of GBH, assault and making threats to kill, against four other women, spanning 20 years. He is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years. For Susan's family, justice had been served, but the mystery of where her body lies remains unsolved. Edwards has refused to give information which could allow the Wareing family to lay her to rest.
Peter said: "I'll be driving home and think, 'is she there?' 'Is she there?'. It's horrible knowing my sister is out there somewhere and unless Alan talks, we'll probably never know where she is. People on the outside see Susan as just another drug and alcohol user but she was also a nice person."
Lancashire Police have vowed they will never stop looking for Susan's body, and as 'Sleeping with my Murderer' was aired on Channel 5, detectives renewed their appeal for information which could help bring her home to her family.
Det Ch Insp Lukmaan Mulla said: “In all my years of policing this case is the one which has affected me the most. Susan was such a vulnerable woman, and she was subjected to the most horrific abuse by Alan Edwards which culminated in her murder at his hands.
“Even though he is now in prison Edwards has never admitted killing Susan, instead claiming that she left of her own free will, and while her family have some justice they can never fully grieve while her body remains missing. I will continue to try and get answers from Alan Edwards, but I would also appeal to anyone who may have information about Susan’s disappearance to come forward."
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident reference 0434 of May 9 or alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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