The brother of murdered York man Geoffrey Leeming has made a heartfelt plea to the police to find his killer.

Tony Leeming, of Taunton, Somerset, urged detectives to re-examine all the evidence in the mystery surrounding the Haxby man's brutal killing. Speaking out after the collapse of conspiracy to murder charges against Geoffrey's widow, Jackie, and children Stephen and Jayne, Tony Leeming called on the senior officer in the case, Det Chief Insp John Lacey, to launch a fresh investigation. He said:

"It is now my hope that DCI Lacey and his team will start again in their search for Geoff's killer. "He is out there somewhere and none of us will rest until he is found, tried and convicted. Geoff was a good man and he and his family deserve nothing less than a thorough re-examination of all the evidence and an investigation which will finally lead to the real culprit standing in the dock."

Mr Leeming said: "The awful prospect of facing charges for the death of Geoff has, I know, been a terrible burden for Jackie, Jayne and Stephen to bear and it is a great relief to us all that the court has - in my view, rightly - thrown out the charges."

Tony Lidgate, of North Yorkshire Police, said today: "The hunt for the killer has never stopped. It has been an ongoing murder inquiry since day one and the court's verdict has not effected the investigation in any way. Somebody killed the man and we are trying to find the person who killed him and we are exploring a range of possibilities."

see LETTERS 'Hunt must go on to find Geoff's killer'

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