In 1946, the body of a four-year-old girl was found on wasteland in York. The child, later identified as Norma Dale, had been strangled and her body dumped less than 60 yards from her home in Rawdon Avenue.
Despite extensive police investigations and assistance from Scotland Yard, her murder remains unsolved.
During the inquest, it was established that Norma had been killed elsewhere before her body was discarded on the wasteland.
Norma disappeared on September 21 while playing outside near her Tang Hall home. Earlier that day, she had attended a dance class in Acomb and visited her aunt’s house with her mother, Francis Dale.
Recalling the day, cousin Brian Dale said in 2016: “We used to see her and her mum every week on a Saturday. Norma went to a dance school and our house was nearby and they used to call in for a cup of tea and a play.”
He added that Norma had wanted to stay at their house that day, but her mother insisted they return home. Francis Dale last saw her daughter when she “ran in from play and took a bun”.
Neighbour Annie Langan reported seeing the young girl outside her house at 2.30pm, just after Norma’s father Cyril supposedly left to watch a rugby match.
Fifteen-year-old Mary Hanby later informed police she witnessed Norma running along Rawdon Avenue approximately five minutes afterwards.
However, Albert Langan, Annie’s husband, contended he saw Norma’s dad cycling past his house at 2.45pm, shortly after he believed he heard Mrs Dale summoning Norma back home. Mr Dale refuted Mr Langan’s statement.
Concern escalated at 3.30pm when Norma failed to return home. Despite extensive searches of the vicinity, including the adjacent wasteland, there was no trace of the four year old.
It wasn’t until the following morning at 10.15am that Norma’s body was discovered on a patch of wasteland at the end of the street near a lorry by 11 year old Michael Duffy.
Michael Duffy, left, told his friends about the gruesome discovery
(Image: SWNS)
Almost 75 years on, the mystery of what happened to the little girl remains unsolved, but Norma’s family has several theories.
Cousin Alan Powell suspects Norma met her untimely end because she witnessed something she shouldn’t have. “I remember laying on the floor at home pretending to read a comic but listening to my parents and one of mum’s sisters or brothers talking about it,” he recounted.
Reflecting on the tragic unsolved case from years past, Mr Powell recounts, “From what I can remember the person they suspected had an alibi for the crucial 10 minutes but who the person was I wouldn’t like to say. The general opinion at the time was that Norma had walked in and seen something she shouldn’t have seen and was murdered because of it.”
Mr Powell said that even though the culprit may no longer be alive, solving the case is still critical for the family: “The person who did it probably can’t be brought to justice now but at least we can get some closure and find out what happened, put the case to bed.”
Brian Dale and his wife Beth have since written a book about his cousin’s murder, although it was never published.
The couple fear legal action because of naming Norma’s alleged killer in the book titled One Red Shoe.
A cold case review was launched by North Yorkshire Police in 2016 but to this day Norma Dale’s murder remains unsolved.
The Yorkshire Evening Press’s front page in 1946
(Image: SWNS)
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