Disappearance of Lee Boxell

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Lee Boxell
Lee Darren Boxell.JPG
Boxell at a party in 1987
Born
Lee Darren Boxell

(1973-02-16)16 February 1973
Surrey,[1] England
Disappeared10 September 1988 (aged 15)
Sutton, England
StatusMissing for 33 years, 4 months and 22 days
Parents
  • Peter Boxell (father)
  • Christine Boxell (mother)

Lee Darren Boxell (born 16 February 1973)[2] is a British schoolboy who disappeared from the London Borough of Sutton in England on 10 September 1988, aged 15. He was last seen in Sutton High Street before saying he might go to watch a football match at Selhurst Park in Croydon. At the time of his disappearance, Boxell was described as 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), of slim build with light brown hair; he was wearing black jeans, a white Flintstones T-shirt and brown suede shoes.

Despite a lengthy police investigation and numerous appeals, there have been no further sightings of Boxell since the day of his disappearance. His parents, Peter and Christine, have kept his bedroom exactly how it was the day he went missing.[3]

Disappearance[]

On the morning of Saturday 10 September 1988, Lee Boxell left his home in Cheam, southern Greater London to meet a friend at 11am in nearby Sutton. Boxell and his friend spent a couple of hours window shopping, and parted company at 1pm. When he was leaving, Boxell said he might go to Selhurst Park football stadium to watch a match between Charlton Athletic F.C. and Millwall F.C..[4]

Despite extensive appeals on both Crimewatch and at Selhurst Park and other football stadiums, no one has come forward with any confirmed sightings of Boxell at any of the football grounds in the area. However, a witness did come forward to say that they had spotted Boxell outside Tesco on Sutton High Street (now an Asda) at 2:20pm. This meant it was unlikely that Boxell would have made it to any of the football grounds in the area in time for a 3pm kick off. Boxell has not been seen since.[4][5]

Subsequent events[]

In 2012, a further witness stated that Boxell attended an unofficial youth club in the annexe of St Dunstan's Church in Cheam, known as "The Shed", which was previously unknown to the police. Following extensive inquires the police found out that paedophiles were operating in the area at the time Boxell disappeared.[6] William Lambert, the St Dunstan's Church graveyard digger who ran The Shed, was jailed for 11 years in 2011, when he was aged 75, after sexually abusing four girls who attended the club.[7] Between June and September 2012 the police excavated part of the St Dunstan's Church graveyard, which resumed in April 2013.[8]

In 2013, to coincide with what would have been Boxell's 40th birthday Crimewatch featured another appeal for information, working on the new theory that Boxell attended The Shed on the day he disappeared.[9][10][5] Following this appeal, there was an allegation of sexual abuse never before reported, and police are now working on the theory that "Lee may have died after intervening to try to stop sexual abuse at a youth club in Cheam".[11][12]

In 2018, a Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that cold case detectives had interviewed a potential witness and new information was being investigated that could lead to Boxell's remains being found.[13]

In 2019, Boxell featured in a missing person campaign promoted by Italian football club AS Roma.[14]

Potential suspects[]

In 2001, links were suggested between Boxell's disappearance and recently convicted paedophile and murderer Brian Lunn Field.[15] Field had just been convicted of the 1968 abduction and murder of 14-year-old schoolboy Roy Tutill, in which Field had abducted Tutill in his car after offering him a lift before raping and killing him.[16] His body was found in woodland three days later.[16] Tutill had been abducted from the street in Chessington, less than 4 miles away from Sutton where Boxell was last seen.[16] Boxell's mother dismissed a link, stating that she believed Field was in prison from 1987 to 1990.[15] However, this is inaccurate, as although Field was convicted in 1986 of the abduction of two boys in his car and given a four-year sentence, he did not serve the whole sentence and was released in 1988 (the same year Boxell disappeared).[16] Field is also suspected by police of being responsible for the abduction and murder of Patrick Warren and David Spencer, two boys who vanished from Solihull in 1996 while Field was driving around in a van in the vicinity of where they were last seen.[17] These boys have also never been found.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "£20,000 Reward for Missing Boy Information". ITV News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. ^ "£20,000 Reward for Missing Boy Information". ITV News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Lee Boxell's parents fear their missing son was murdered". www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b "The Missing Teen Whose Cold Case Was Revived with the Probe of a 'Warlock' Paedophile Ring". www.vice.com. 3 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b BBC One - Crimewatch, 14/02/2013 - Lee Boxell disappearance
  6. ^ BBC News - Paedophiles active when Lee Boxell vanished in 1988
  7. ^ "Missing or Murdered: Channel 5 Show Looks at Lee Boxell Disappearance from Sutton Over 30 Years Aago". My London News. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  8. ^ Graveyard searched for signs of Lee Boxell, who went missing in Sutton 24 years ago - Crime - News - London Evening Standard
  9. ^ "New appeal for missing person - Metropolitan Police Service". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  10. ^ BBC News - Lee Boxell case: Fresh appeal 25 years on for missing teen
  11. ^ "Crimewatch reconstruction on missing person Lee Boxell - Metropolitan Police Service". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  12. ^ BBC News - Lee Boxell detectives 'close in on two persons of interest'
  13. ^ Pettifor, Tom (2018-08-03). "Police get a breakthrough in hunt for missing boy 30 years after he vanished". mirror. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  14. ^ "AS Roma: Why did Italian club decide to announce signings alongside missing children?". BBC SPORT. 26 November 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Mother dismisses link to missing son". News Shopper. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d Real Crime (24 June 2002). "Mr Nice Guy" (TV Documentary). ITV. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  17. ^ a b "In the Footsteps of Killers: The Milk Carton Kids" (TV Documentary). All 4. Channel 4. 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

External links[]

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