Murderer may have killed before

Detectives investigating the murder of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan said today they believe her killer John Taylor may have committed other serious crimes and did not rule out the possibility he has killed before.

Speaking at a press conference following Taylor's conviction and life sentence for the murder of teenager Leanne, Detective Superintendent Chris Gregg, who led the investigation, said officers were now looking at a range of other possible crimes the 46-year-old may have committed in the past 20 years.

Answering questions he said he was looking particularly at four unsolved murders in the region including the 1992 killing of Bradford prostitute Yvonne Fitt.

Ms Fitt's body was found in a shallow grave in the same woodland where Leanne Tiernan was buried.

Mr Gregg said he was not prepared to go into further details about the other three cases.

He said he was launching an appeal to the public for help today and West Yorkshire Police was releasing video footage of Taylor, including film taken at his police interviews, to help jog people's memories.

The detective said he was particularly keen for people to try and identify a necklace found in the boot of Taylor's car.

Mr Green said: "We are keen to explore every possibility as to what he (Taylor) has perhaps committed in the last 20 years.

"We do not believe this is the first major crime he has committed."

He added that officers and a forensic psychologist came to the conclusion Leanne's murder was not his first major crime after considering the planning involved in her killing and the way in which he disposed of her body.

He said: "We believe he may have done something previously".

Asked whether this included further murders Mr Gregg said: "We can't exclude that."

Mr Gregg said he agreed with the judge's description of Taylor as a "dangerous sexual sadist" and said Leanne's family and friends had been "devastated" by her killing.