Murder of Rosie Palmer - Abduction

Abduction

On 30 June 1994 Rosie Palmer was playing at a neighbour's house in Henrietta Street, Hartlepool after being collected from nursery school by her stepfather, John Thornton. At approximately 15:30 Gary Amerigo, the local ice cream vendor, arrived and Palmer went to ask Thornton if she could have money to buy an ice pop. She was the only customer and after serving her, the ice cream salesman left and continued his route. Amerigo said later: "Only Rosie came up to my van that day. She didn't have enough money but I gave her the ice-cream anyway. She seemed just her usual self, bright and cheerful." Armstrong – who was celebrating his 32nd birthday that day – abducted her as she walked away after making her purchase. She was considered a "sensible" child who would not "wander off" and it was approximately two hours before her stepfather realised she was no longer at the neighbour's or playing outside the house. Thornton and other local residents began to search the local area for her, and at 20:45 reported her as a missing person to the police.

The police search operation was headed by Detective Superintendent Doug Smith of Cleveland Police and involved door-to-door inquiries, tracker dogs, and local volunteers. Warehouses, industrial buildings, and disused buildings around the adjacent docks were searched while HM Coastguard, a police helicopter, and a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat searched the sea and shore. Police first called at Armstrong's flat on 1 July while conducting initial door-to-door inquiries during which residents were asked to answer a questionnaire aimed at tracing her last movements. On 2 July they returned while carrying out "cursory searches" of houses in the area. On 3 July two detectives spoke to Armstrong; they noticed that his previously "co-operative, friendly and helpful" demeanour had changed, and that he then appeared "very shifty, on edge and looking very worried". Acting on suspicion, the detectives arrested Armstrong and a second search of his first-floor flat was conducted. The child's mutilated body was found in a bin liner inside an airing cupboard in the flat. Her shorts and underwear were found nearby in a separate bag. Armstrong denied any involvement in the crime and claimed that "someone else must have put the body there".