CPS to consider murder charge over 1965 killing of schoolgirl Elsie Frost

Detectives probing the killing of a schoolgirl more than 50 years ago will ask the prosecutors to consider a murder charge, West Yorkshire Police said.

Elsie Frost, 14, was attacked from behind and stabbed in the back and head as she walked through a railway tunnel just off a canal towpath in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in October 1965.

On Thursday, West Yorkshire Police said a 79-year-old man rearrested on suspicion of murder in Newbury, Berkshire, on March 6 has been bailed.

The force said detectives will be submitting a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen said: "Following extensive interviews, we have now bailed a man we arrested earlier this week in connection with the murder of Elsie Frost.

"We have been in dialogue with a dedicated case lawyer from the CPS' Complex Case Unit and we will now be submitting a file of evidence for them to consider charges in respect of kidnap, rape and murder."

On Monday, a force spokesman said the man was also arrested in connection with an unconnected offence of kidnap and rape, dating back to 1972.

The suspect, who has been named in reports as Peter Pickering, was arrested in September last year and later bailed.

A major inquiry was launched after Elsie's body was found at the bottom of a flight of steps by a dog walker, and hundreds of people were interviewed but her killer has evaded justice ever since.

Police renewed efforts to find the killer in 2015 with refreshed publicity five decades on from her death, and received new information.

The inquiry was triggered by a BBC Radio 4 investigation into the case.

In the wake of the fresh police appeal, Elsie's brother, Colin Frost, spoke out about her family's pain, saying their parents, Edith and Arthur, had died "with a huge amount of guilt".

Mr Frost said Elsie had been like a mother to him, adding: "She was just a sweet, sweet person. She was lovely."

In 1966, Ian Bernard Spencer, then aged 33, was charged with her murder but cleared on the orders of the judge who heard the case at trial.