Child killer 'had abused for 40 years'

Det Chf Supt David Cook kept Roy Tutill's possessions

The murder of a schoolboy 33 years ago has finally been solved, after his killer pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey.

Roy Tutill was 14 years old when he was sexually assaulted and then strangled by Brian Field, on 23 April, 1968.

BBC crime correspondent Stephen Cape reports that Field may have been abusing children for more than 40 years before his eventual arrest in Solihull.

It was near a busy roundabout that Brian Field spotted the boy hitching to his home near Dorking, Surrey, from school.

Motivated by the need for sex he offered Roy Tutill a lift, abused him and then strangled the teenager, dumping him a few miles away in Mickleham.

The murder caused a public outcry and for surviving relatives it has cast a deep shadow over the family.

Breakthrough

Field was never interviewed at the time of Roy Tutill's murder.

Brian Field, shown here in an undated picture released by police, may have killed others

He moved to the Midlands and only became a suspect when a member of his family tipped off detectives.

By chance Field had provided a DNA sample after a drink drive offence.

This was the breakthrough the forensic science service needed.

They managed to match a stain found on the boy's trousers with Field.

Child murderer

The officer who reviewed the case still has some of the boy's belongings.

For Detective Chief Superintendent David Cook, Field was not just a child murderer but a convicted paedophile.

Now aged 64, the former gardener and farm worker is still regarded as extremely dangerous.

Roy Tutill's body was dumped in Mickleham, Surrey

Field, who was born Brian Lull, was brought up at a children's home in Lincolnshire.

He joined the choir and even took part in a BBC programme in 1951 with the home's owner and founder, Paul Field

The present chairman of the Children Family Trust, Stephen Fieldsend, is clearly shocked by the behaviour of a boy who turned into a serial paedophile.

Suspicious deaths

Detectives say there are still dozens of unsolved suspicious deaths that will now be re-examined.

In 1984 15-year-old Mark Billington was found hanged from a tree not far Field's home.

An inquest recorded an open verdict. His mother, Winifred, believes he was murdered.

Brian Field facts

Killed Roy Tutill on 23 April, 1968

The case was the only unsolved child murder in Surrey

Field fled the area and was never interviewed at the time

He was trapped by a routine DNA test

Police are looking at other unsolved deaths

Field may have abused children for 40 years

There is also the question of two boys who went missing on Boxing Day in 1996.

They lived a short distance from Field's flat.

The police also think that Field, who showed no remorse for Roy Tutill's murder, may have been carrying out sex offences on young boys for the past 40 years.

Roy Tutill's belongings are still at the local police station in Surrey - the books he was carrying on the day of the murder.