​Key facts: 

​

• Sally Shepherd, aged 24 at the time of her murder, worked as a restaurant manager at the Young Vic Theatre in London. She was described by colleagues as fun, sociable, and warm.

​​

• Sally was murdered on the night of November 30, 1979, with her body discovered in the early hours of December 1, 1979.

​​

• The crime took place on Staffordshire Street, Peckham, South London, just behind the Peckham Police Station. Her body was found in a builder’s yard, dragged through a wire fence.

​​

• Sally was brutally attacked on her way home after picking up an Indian takeaway. She was hit on the head with a blunt object and dragged into a builder's yard.

​

• Her body showed signs of a violent struggle, including being stripped naked, raped, and beaten. Evidence suggested that the killer stomped on her with such force that several bones were broken.

​​

• Sally sustained multiple fractures, particularly severe damage from the waist up. Her spine was heavily damaged, and the extent of her injuries led investigators to believe that the killer jumped on her body repeatedly.

​​

• Sally was last seen alive picking up an Indian takeaway in New Cross before boarding her usual bus to Peckham. Witnesses saw her walking home towards her flat after getting off the bus.

​​

• A bus driver reported seeing a suspicious white Ford Cortina with a dark patch of primer near where Sally disembarked the bus. Another witness reported seeing a man crying while leaning against a wall near the crime scene. Despite these witness reports, no one was ever identified or charged.

​​

• Three strands of hair were found on Sally's body that did not match her own. These were saved for future testing, and despite advancements in DNA technology, no conclusive match has been found as of the most recent tests in 2019.

​​

• Some investigators, including retired officer Chris Clark, have suggested links to Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, due to similarities in the method of attack.

​​

• Sutcliffe was a lorry driver who was in the London area at the time, and his first wife had connections to the Deptford area, near the crime scene. However, despite these parallels, DNA evidence has not linked Sutcliffe to the crime.

​​

• The case remains unsolved. It has been revisited multiple times over the years, with significant focus in 2019 when new DNA tests were conducted, but no new leads have emerged.

​​

• The police continue to classify it as a cold case, with the hope that advances in forensic science may eventually provide answers.