Forever tortured by her little brother's unsolved murder, Pauline Graham's life is one lived in the shadow of tragedy. Allan Graham was just 11 years-old when he vanished from a street in Newcastle's West End, in 1970.
The schoolboy was found dead in a ditch the following day, but no one has ever been brought to justice for his murder. Pauline, who was 17 when Allan was killed, has lived with the burden of her grief and anger throughout her whole adult life.
But the great-grandmother has never spoken publicly about the unsolved slaying until now.
And today she has lifted the lid on the unimaginable heartache her family has endured as she admits she has now almost given up hope that Allan's killer will ever be found.
Pauline said: "It was horrendous, it's hard to describe. It's life-changing, it's something you never get over. It's always there.
"At the time we thought the police would find out who did it quite quickly. But now we realise what the police were up against.
"I don't think you ever give up hope, but as the years went by I realised this wasn't going to happen.
"I think if they were going to find out they would have before now. It's only a confession that's going to solve it now because there's no other evidence."
Allan, who lived in Gateshead, had been spending the weekend with his older brother Denis Baron, now 79, and his late wife Moira at their home on Gerald Street in Benwell, when he disappeared.
He made the short walk from the terraced house to a sweet shop at the bottom of the road on the afternoon of Saturday, January 24, 1970, but was never seen alive again.
Allan was found strangled in a water-filled ditch at Callerton Grange Farm, near Ponteland, the next day. It was thought he had been lured to his death as he walked the 50 yards back to Denis' house.
Pauline, who lives on Gateshead's Leam Lane estate, will never forget the moment she was told her little brother had been killed.
"A murder was pretty much unheard of back them, now it's every other day and you can't keep up with it," she said. "It was just so hard.
"I used to sob and sob and wonder if he suffered or if he was in pain."
Pauline, 70, said their mum, Mary Wells, never got over Allan's death, which made the tragedy even harder to bear.
"My mam didn't cope at all. I needed her as well but she wasn't there for me," she said. "Sometimes I felt like she thought she was the only one that was hurting.
"But looking back, now I'm a mother, I totally get that. Luckily I had my children soon after Allan died so I was occupied and that helped me, but every now and then you get a quiet time when you think about it."
Pauline has however clung on to the happy memories she has of her little brother.
And despite dying more than 53 years ago, Allan remains a big part of her family.
"He was cheeky, he was a typical lad, but he was just lovely," she said. "I have always told my children about Allan. It's always Uncle Allan this and Uncle Allan that."
Northumbria Police detectives have been reviewing Allan’s case since the Chronicle highlighted it as part of an Unsolved Crimes series in 2014 – which prompted a new witness to come forward.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “Unsolved murders are all subject to periodic reviews and if any new information comes to light about this case, our detectives will make sure it is fully investigated. If you have information that could help detectives with Allan’s case, or any of our unsolved cases, then please call us.”
Call Northumbria Police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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