Teen Who Drowned In Canal Was Either Fleeing Attacker Or Pushed In After Stabbing

Tracey Meade was a popular 14-year-old from London, England. She lived with her mother at the Warwick Estate in Paddington, but she didn’t like that the apartment was on the sixth floor, so she often stayed with friends and relatives. The teen frequently skipped school, spending her time roaming the North West London streets with her friends.

On the evening of January 20, 1992, Tracey returned home after spending the day with her grandmother. She told her mother, Kim Meade, she was sleeping at her cousin’s house. Kim gave her 2£ for pocket money and saw her leave around 7 PM.

Tracey never made it to her cousin’s house and missed all her classes the next day. She was reported missing to authorities on January 22.

While the family tirelessly searched for Tracey, several people reported seeing the 14-year-old girl. A woman believes she saw her arguing with a teen boy on January 22 near the bridge at Half Penny Steps off Harrow Road. He was a bit taller than Tracey, had fair hair, and wore a white baseball cap.

On January 31, Tracey asked someone in Shepherds Bush for directions to Adams Cafe, where she said she was meeting her boyfriend and his friends.

Later that day, Tracey and another girl were seen at Cooke Pie and Eel Shop on Goldhawk Road. Staff noticed how tired they looked, and it seemed as if Tracey had something stashed under her jacket. Her friend was described as pretty with dark bobbed hair.

On February 1, the searches came to a tragic end when a fisherman found a partially clothed body in the Grand Union Canal in Kensal Rise.

Tracey had been stabbed in her arm and stomach. But the wounds were superficial, and her cause of death was drowning. Investigators believe she was pushed into the freezing waters or fell in trying to flee her attacker.

The 14-year-old hadn't been dead for long and her clothes were found neatly folded alongside the canal. Authorities thought the crime had been sexually motivated, but Hammersmith Coroner Dr. John Burton did not find evidence of abuse. He said,

“She seems to have been undressed under threat. She has not been sexually assaulted although it may well be that the person removing the clothing may have intended to do that. Either she had been forced into the canal or she was trying to get away.”

Emma Petrou believes her sister was killed by someone she knew because Tracey “wasn’t a silly girl” who put herself in dangerous situations with strangers. Investigators say she likely went to the canal voluntarily, only for something to go wrong there.

Emma was 11 years old when her sister was murdered. She has been open about the tragic impact the death has had on her family.

Unable to cope, their father, Paul “Luggy” Petrou, turned to drugs and died by suicide at age 45 in 2011. Just days before, he was seen crying at Tracey’s grave. His wife Denise, Emma’s mother, also struggled with drugs and died of lung cancer. Tracey’s mother died in 2015.

In 2020, Tracey’s brother was fatally stabbed during a fight outside a McDonald’s in Kilburn. Peter Petrou was a 37-year-old construction worker. His killer, 23-year-old Chihab Saleh, was convicted shortly after. Emma feels guilty that her sister’s killer is still free,

“Our life after Tracey’s murder was horrendous. The downward spiral is unreal. My dad turned to drugs and I lost my mum who smoked drugs with him to lung cancer aged just 50. When I lost Peter it just broke me, like my fight was over.

I just feel guilty for Tracey because she can’t rest in peace and neither can my dad, mum, nan and everyone else who knew her.”

Tracey’s case is still open, though technological advancements have yet to help find her killer.

Tracey Meade’s murder has been unsolved for 31 years.