Who killed Tina Bell? Investigation into cold case of teenager murdered 34 years ago reveals double jeopardy killer Billy Dunlop was one of the last people to see her alive

By Claudia Joseph for MailOnline and Ffion Haf For Mailonline

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A teenager, who went missing 34 years ago, after popping out to buy some sweets for her younger brother John, had ties to both a convicted paedophile and a convicted murderer.

Tina Bell, 18, disappeared in June 1989, in the town of Billingham, Teeside, in an area then dubbed the Murder Mile, but her remains were not found until the following April, on wasteland near her family home.

Initial forensic results suggested that her body had been dissolved in acid, leading her case to be dubbed the ‘Acid Bath Murder’ but it later emerged that the land was blighted by chemicals.

Now, a cold case investigation, by Silent Witness star Emilia Fox and criminologist Professor David Wilson, for their TV series In the Footsteps of Killers, has revealed that Tina lived within walking distance of both predators - and both men could be suspects in her case.

One of the men, Billy Dunlop, who is currently serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, partied with Tina on the night she died and was one of the last people to see her alive. Her body was discovered only a few streets away from where Julie’s body was found.

Billy was acquitted twice of murdering Julie in 1989, but became the first person in the UK to be re-tried under double jeopardy rules after a campaign by her mother. 

‘It seems that Tina was mixing with some dangerous characters,’ said Wilson. ‘I’ve been looking into Billy Dunlop and I’ve discovered that by the time Tina was in this flat with him on the night she disappeared, he’d already got a history of vicious assaults and violence including against a teenage girl.’

The other, paedophile David Courtney, dubbed the ‘child rapist preacher’, who died in Wakefield Prison after being convicted of child sex offences, lived 300 yards from her home and she would regularly have sleepovers with his children.

Former Surrey Police detective superintendent Graham Hill, who led the investigations into missing toddler Madeleine McCann and schoolgirl murder victim Millie Dowler, told the programme: ‘We have a convicted paedophile, who is living 300 yards from where the victim was living when she went missing.

‘She knew his family. She knew his children. She slept over in his house. It’s highly conceivable that David Courtney was abusing Tina and he murdered her to cover up that abuse.’

Billy Dunlop, who is currently in jail serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, was one of the last people to see Tina alive

Billy Dunlop, who is currently in jail serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, was one of the last people to see Tina alive 

Tina, who lived with her parents Bob and Cath, who have since died, and siblings Angela and John, was last seen on the night of June 2, 1989, partying in a flat above a shop in Billingham with Dunlop, then 26; his friend, painter, and decorator Vince Robson, 37, who died in 2005; and her former boyfriend Colin Bond, who died of a drugs overdose after being arrested for sexual assault.

Landlord Paul McDermott, who owned the flat where Robson lived, was one of the last people to see Tina alive. 

‘I had a phone call from the local pub, saying there was a party in one of the flats I owned,’ he recalled.

‘So, I went down there and into the kitchen. There was Colin Bond, Billy Dunlop, Tina Bell, and Vince Robson making a noise. They were drunk obviously. Vince was a tenant in the flat. So, I told the other three to leave. They finished their drink and left and I followed them home down Mill Lane and they carried on.’

It was not until April 21, 1990, that Tina’s skull, collar bone, shoulder blade and lower jaw were found by two youths shooting pigeons, on land between the town of Billingham and a chemical factory.

Tina Bell (pictured), 18, disappeared in June 1989, in the town of Billingham, Teeside, in an area then dubbed the Murder Mile

Tina Bell (pictured), 18, disappeared in June 1989, in the town of Billingham, Teeside, in an area then dubbed the Murder Mile

Pictured: Tina Bell's father Bob, brother John, and mum Cath, in the late 1990s appealing for information about her murder

Pictured: Tina Bell's father Bob, brother John, and mum Cath, in the late 1990s appealing for information about her murder

Initial forensic results suggested that her body had been dissolved in acid,  but it later emerged that the land was blighted by chemicals

Initial forensic results suggested that her body had been dissolved in acid,  but it later emerged that the land was blighted by chemicals

The sister of a teenager brutally murdered 30 years ago says she has now given up hope that the killer will ever be caught. Pictured: Tina Bell's sister Angela Wade (left) and Angela's daughter Hannah

The sister of a teenager brutally murdered 30 years ago says she has now given up hope that the killer will ever be caught. Pictured: Tina Bell's sister Angela Wade (left) and Angela's daughter Hannah

An investigation by Emilia Fox and criminologist Professor David Wilson, for their series In the Footsteps of Killers, has revealed that Tina lived within walking distance of both her predators

An investigation by Emilia Fox and criminologist Professor David Wilson, for their series In the Footsteps of Killers, has revealed that Tina lived within walking distance of both her predators

Police originally believed that her body had been bathed in acid because even her teeth had been stripped of enamel but they have since discarded that theory as the land was riddled with pollutants.

Her brother John said: ‘Until we can find the rest of Tina’s remains, and have them interred in a grave, I have to know the answers. I have to know what happened. Until the day I die, I won’t stop asking, I won’t stop looking.’

Billy Dunlop, now 58, murdered Julie Hogg in 1989 but he was not convicted of the offence until 2006. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum tariff of 17 years.

That sentence came after a relentless campaign by Julie's mother, Ann Ming, to change the ancient 'double jeopardy' rule and bring Dunlop to justice.

Dunlop had already escaped justice for Ann's murder twice after juries could not agree a verdict.

After eventually pleading guilty at the Old Bailey in 2006, aged 43, he was sentenced to life. He is eligible for parole in October 2023.

Dunlop was the first killer to be caged under the changes to double jeopardy.

Since Ann's campaign, the new law has been used to secure multiple convictions, including Stephen Lawrence's killers. 

In the Footsteps of Killers: The Murder of Tina Bell is available on All 4

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