The Cold Case of Tracey Mertens

December 23rd, 1994, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England

Tracey, her partner Joey and their two children Kelly, aged 11, and Daniel, 12, had recently moved from Birmingham to Rochdale. They did not tell their family why they moved and the children told the police that they moved very quickly. It was Christmas time, but to the children, it did not feel like it as there were no presents under the tree this year. The children assumed that this was because of the move. However, it turned out that Joey was in trouble with drug dealers, owing a lot of money to people in the Birmingham area.

Tracey, who worked as a dinner lady, was just 16 years old when she met Joey, the pair had been together for 15 years before she died, but Joey's drug use took a toll on their relationship, and it was reported that their relationship had been on and off for some time.

On the 22nd of December, Tracey travelled to Birmingham to pick up her benefits book so that the family could have some money for Christmas. She drove down to their old house which was on Cattells Grove in the Nechells area. The case was aired on Crimewatch, where it was reported that Tracey picked up her book and a few other things and then spent the night at her sisters-in-law's house. She then drove back to Rochdale the next day on the 23rd of December. However, In 2019, Cheshire police stated that they believe Tracey stayed overnight at her sister-in-law’s and visited her former home the next morning of the 23rd.

At approximately 11 am on Christmas Eve, Tracey was in her home back in Rochdale when there was a knock at the door, two overweight black men in their early 30s, with West Midlands accents barged into the house, taking her hostage. They blindfolded her and put her into a yellow Mark ii Ford Escort car with a cuddly toy stuck on the window. They drove for 60-70 miles to Congleton in Cheshire.

The two men took Tracey to Eaton Church, doused her in petrol and set her on fire. A passer-by found Tracey and called the police. Tracey had burns to 95% of her body, her injuries were horrific. Tracey was in a critical condition, but managed to give the police a full account of what had happened. Including a clear description of the two men. She told the police that the two men came to the house and were looking for Joey. She also told police that on the car journey they were arguing in what police believed to be Patois (Patwa), a Jamaican dialect.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, Tracey sadly passed away.

Tracey was completely innocent as the two men were looking for Joey. It can be assumed that he owed them money, or they were working on behalf of someone that he owed money to. Perhaps Tracey was followed back to Rochdale from Birmingham and that is how the two men knew where she lived. The families old house on Cattells Grove in Nechells had been vandalized with the word ‘death’.

Shortly after Tracey’s death, another couple who owed money for drugs received a threat that said, “if they did not pay up, they would get what Tracey Murton got”.

Police hold some DNA on file, but a match has never been found. There is a £30,000 reward for a conviction in this case. Joey Kavanagh has always claimed that he was not the reason of her murder.

Like a lot of these old cases, there was little evidence shared by the police. Where was Joey at the time that Tracey was taken, and why did the men not come back for him, if he was the target? Surely, Joey knew who he owed drug money. Did he give this information to the police to help them catch Tracey's killers?

As of 2022, Tracey's murder remains unsolved.

Sources and Further Reading

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-50890878

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/tracey-mertens-murder-anniversary-rochdale-17448505

Staffordshire Sentinel - Wednesday 04 January 1995 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19950104/022/0005

Staffordshire Sentinel - Tuesday 27 December 1994 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000525/19941227/020/0004?browse=true

Crimewatch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1p_P1XaG70