Science New evidence could solve 1990 Oxfordshire taxi murder

Detectives hope new forensic evidence could find the killer in the “brutal unsolved murder” of a taxi driver in Oxfordshire three decades on.

Lennie Gomm, 75, was stabbed directly through his heart in Hampton Gay Lane, near Bletchingdon, after he had picked up a fare on 13 June 1990.

The motive for his killing remains unclear and the case’s prime suspect, the passenger, remains undetected.

Officers said the new evidence could “link a suspect to the scene”.

Peter Beirne, head of Thames Valley Police’s major crime investigation review team, said “advancements in forensic science” had allowed fresh evidence to be gathered from Mr Gomm’s taxi and clothing.

He appealed for members of the public with “information or suspicions” about the attack to contact officers, who he said would be able to track down and investigate new suspects in the cold case.

“You might know someone who acts strangely when Lennie’s murder is mentioned… or perhaps you know someone who has an obsession with the case,” Mr Beirne said.

Detectives hope that over the past three decades the killer has “confided in somebody” who may now be able to come forward.

Although there is no certainty over the motive for Mr Gomm’s stabbing, Mr Beirne said the attack was “probably” as a result of “an argument that escalated”.

The body of father-of-three Mr Gomm, from Forest Hill near Wheatley, was found by a truck driver at 10:50 BST on 13 June 1990, close to his blue Ford Granada.

He had picked up a man, thought to have long hair, in Banbury Road in Oxford at about 06:30 and told the ABC Taxi control room he was heading to Bicester.

The last sighting of his taxi was at 07:00 and evidence suggests Mr Gomm and the passenger “were in heated discussions as though they were arguing as to where to go” near the Bletchingdon area.

Post-mortem examinations established Mr Gomm died from a stab wound to the chest that passed through his heart, though he had a second minor wound to the left of his chest and marks around his mouth.

Police said he had not been robbed and no murder weapon has been found.

Several arrests were made during the initial investigation but no charges were brought.

Mr Gomm’s daughters urged anyone with information to contact the police “so that we can hopefully find the person responsible for ending our father’s life so brutally”.