Natalie Pearman was a 16 yr old girl who was strangled and her body dumped in woodland at Ringland Hills, on the edge of Norwich. No one has ever been convicted of her murder

At 3:50am on Thursday 20 November 1992, a lorry driver en route to work discovered the body of a girl in a lay-by at Ringland Road, on the outskirts of Norwich, Norfolk.

The body was subsequently established to be that of Natalie Jane Pearman, a 16 year old, born on 25 December 1975, who had been working as a prostitute in the red light district of Norwich.

Natalie was last sighted alive in Rouen Road, Norwich at 1:15am the same day as she was discovered. The location where Natalie’s body was found is some 5 miles distant from the area she had been working as a prostitute.

A Post Mortem examination revealed that Natalie had died from Asphyxia. Forensic swabs revealed that semen was present in her body and on her under body garments and a DNA crime stain was obtained and loaded onto the national DNA database.

The subsequent investigation has interviewed over four thousand people and a large number of men have provided samples for direct DNA testing. To date the DNA profile obtained from the semen has not been matched despite a general search of the English DNA database.

Why has this case been looked at again?

This case has never been closed and been subject to reviews since 1992. Work is still being carried out to identify whose DNA was found on Natalie.

December 2011 

Reward offered over Norwich Natalie Pearman 1992 murder

A reward of up to £4,000 is being offered to help catch the killer of a teenage girl in Norwich 19 years ago.

Natalie Pearman, 16, who worked as a prostitute in the city, was last seen in Rouen Road, early on 20 November 1992.

Her body was found hours later in a lay-by at Ringland by a lorry driver on his way to work.

Crimestoppers, which is offering the reward, said police particularly wanted to trace a potential witness.

The charity said the reward would be for information leading to a conviction over the murder.

A post-mortem examination revealed Natalie had been suffocated.

‘Searching for answers’

Ann Scott, Crimestoppers eastern regional manager, said they particularly wanted to hear from a caller who had recently told police they believed they had seen Natalie get into a car that night in King Street.

She said: “This murder has robbed a family of their young daughter and they are still searching for answers 19 years on.”

Ms Scott urged anyone with information to contact police or Crimestoppers.

“We never ask for your name, no call is recorded and we do not trace IP addresses or calls,” she said.

“You won’t have to speak with police, give a statement or to go to court – we only want to know what you know, not who you are.”