Murder of Sheffield prostitute still baffling detectives 18 years on

The murder of a Sheffield prostitute stabbed to death in Sheffield is still baffling detectives 18 years on.
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Michaela Hague, aged 25, was killed in a frenzied attack while working as a sex worker in Sheffield city centre.

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The mum-of-one was knifed 19 times in her back and neck on a remote car park on Spitalfields, off Nursery Street, on Bonfire Night 2001.

Michaela Hague Michaela Hague
Michaela Hague

She had been picked up by a punter earlier in the night, who pulled up in an old-style blue Ford Sierra while she was plying her trade on Bower Street.

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Michaela, from Pitsmoor, managed to whisper a brief description of her attacker to the first police officer on the scene.

She said her attacker was white, clean-shaven and wore a wedding ring.

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He was around 38 years old, 6ft tall and was wearing a blue fleece and glasses.

But despite the information she passed on and help from an eye witness who saw the killer drive off, the murderer has never been caught.

Next month marks the 18th anniversary of the murder.

Michaela, who had a five-year-old son and worked on the streets to fund her heroin habit, was described by her heartbroken mum as a ‘lovely, beautiful daughter’.

Detectives who investigated her death had to identify her regular customers and speak to other sex workers and men known to visit Sheffield's red light district at that time.

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In a bid to encourage men who knew her to come forward to eliminate themselves from the investigation, detectives threatened to track them down and visit them at home unless they came forward.

They also liaised with police forces across the country looking for possible links with other prostitute murders.

During the inquest into Michaela's death, Sheffield Coroner Chris Dorries said he hoped advances in technology would eventually help police snare the killer.

The murder is one of 36 unsolved cases in South Yorkshire Police’s books.

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The force’s major incident review team regularly reviews historic cases to look for new investigative opportunities in the hope of solving the murders.

Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101.