Schoolgirl's murderer jailed for life

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of schoolgirl Lesley Molseed who was found stabbed to death on moorland 32 years ago.Comic book dealer Ronald Castree, 54, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, was told he would serve at least 30 years after his conviction at Bradford Crown Court.The jury heard how Castree abducted 11-year-old Lesley as she ran an errand in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on October 5, 1975.Tax clerk Stefan Kiszko spent 16 years in prison for Lesley's murder but was released in 1992 after his conviction was quashed.The verdict came after 11 hours and 38 minutes of deliberations and was a majority decision.Castree shrugged his shoulders but showed little other emotion as the foreman returned the verdict in the packed court.Members of Lesley's family shouted "yes" and hugged each other in the gallery.The jury heard how Castree abducted Lesley as she went on an errand to buy bread for her mother.Her body was found three days later on the West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester border, on moors near the A672 Oldham to Ripponden road.She had been stabbed 12 times during a "frenzied attack", the jury was told.A DNA sample taken from Castree in 2005, when he was arrested but never charged for another sex attack, was a direct match with the sample taken from the 1975 murder scene.Castree denied the charge and told the jury he had no idea how his DNA ended up at the scene of the murder.His defence team told the jury it was "overwhemingly probable" a convicted paedophile called Raymond Hewlett was Lesley's murderer.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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ITN | November 12, 2007

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