Unsolved Case Julie Ward

Julie Ward was a British woman who was murdered in Kenya in September 1988.

Ward perished whilst on safari in the Masai Mara game reserve. The subsequent inquiry into her demise was significant for the campaign by her father, John Ward; firstly to convince the Kenyan authorities to recognise that his daughter was killed, and secondly to try to recognize the murderer or murderers. Three people were charged with her killing, although none have been sentenced.

Miss Ward vanished towards the end of a solo photography safari in Kenya's Maasai Mara game reserve.

She was last glimpsed alive on 6 September 1988, before her burned and dismembered corpse was discovered by her father a week later.

At the time, Kenyan officials contended she has been assaulted by animals - but they later acknowledged she was killed after her father uncovered further evidence.

In 2004, an inquest held in Ipswich recorded a ruling of unlawful killing.

Mr Ward, from Brockley, near Bury St Edmunds, has put almost £2m of his own money into the inquiry - and made more than 100 visits to Kenya.

He told if his daughter's demise was accidental, he would have acknowledged it by now, but he will not give up on the killing investigation.

Mr Ward, who has two sons, said: "What we would prefer to get is our suspect's DNA but of course I haven't got the strength to do it."

Two game rangers were acquitted of Ms Ward's killing in 1992 due to limited evidence.

In 1997, a new team of Kenyan police officers re-examined the case - and in 1999 a gamekeeper was attempted and acquitted of the crime.

In 1992, after the first of two trials, two junior park rangers were acquitted of her killing due to a lack of indication. The supervising judge in the prosecution recommended the investigation of the head park ranger.

In 1997, the case was re-examined by a new team of Kenyan police.

In July 1998, Simon Ole Makallah, who was the prime park warden at the time of the killing, was caught following a two-year investigation.

On 16 September 1999, Simon Ole Makallah was found not culpable at the second trial due to lack of information.

In 2004, a British inquest, held at Ipswich, recorded a ruling of unlawful murder.

In October 2009, the case was reopened after a private visit, to Kenya, by John Yates, the chief of the Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorism squad. In December 2009 Valentine Ohuru Kodipo, a crucial witness of the murder perished. Kodi perished in Denmark where he had lived in exile for more than 20 years. Ward's killing was so susceptible that Kodipo had left Kenya following his testimony.

In 2018, John Ward campaigned in the media for the administrations in Kenya to obtain a DNA sample from the individual he doubted of the crime.