Historic investigation into Coventry rape continues, as woman stages reconstruction

A woman has staged a reconstruction, as detectives continue to investigate a sex crime that took place 40 years ago.

Liz (not her real name) was walking to the library at around 6pm on a Monday evening and took a footpath alongside the Warwick University campus in Canley when she was grabbed from behind and a knife held to her throat. She was told he would kill her if she screamed.

The 20-year-old law student was forced through a gate onto a football pitch and marched to the far end where it was pitch dark. The man had grabbed her ponytail and the knife nicked her neck as they walked.

She was pushed to the ground, partially undressed and raped.

Liz’s rapist has never been caught, but following a BBC documentary about forensic officers last year, she contacted West Midlands Police again to see if advances in DNA technology might find her attacker.

A reconstruction took place on Tuesday - exactly 40 years since the attack.

Although the university campus has changed and the football pitch is no longer there, she walked the route she had taken four decades before.

“I would like to feel that effort has been made to find him,” she said, “I would like him to feel scared, because he frightened me for a long time.”

Detectives are now submitting the samples they have for DNA testing in the hope that a match can be found on today’s database.

Police want anyone who might have witnessed anything 40 years ago to contact them. Officers can be contacted on 101, quoting crime reference 20/246855/23.