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In this episode, I discuss the story of Alan Livesey, a 14-year-old schoolboy and Army Cadet who was murdered in bizarre circumstances in 1979.
On February 22, Alan was left home alone when his dad, Bob, left for his night shift, and his mum, Margaret, headed to the pub with her friend and secret lover.
A few hours later, Alan was brutally murdered in his home, and his body was only discovered after Margaret sent her friend Eileen's son, Leslie, to her house to check on him.
Margaret claimed to have headed straight for Eileen's house after returning from the pub, but she is suspected of having killed her son first and signed a confession stating as much before she quickly withdrew it.
Add to that several witness testimonies indicating there was another male in the house with Alan whilst his mum was at the pub, which takes the complexity of this mystery to another level.
Still, Margaret was found guilty of murdering Alan and handed a life sentence on July 26. She served ten years (incorrectly stated as being thirteen in the episode) before being released in 1989 and subsequently passed away in February 2001 after succumbing to throat cancer.
The case aired on an episode of Rough Justice in October 1983, and many, including Margaret's other son, Derek, believe she is innocent. Sadly, it looks like the truth will now never be known.
Intro music:
David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'
linktr.ee/davidjohnbradymusic
References:
BBC. (n.d.). THE CASE OF THE TORTURED TEENAGER[Video]. Rough Justice. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from http://www.roughjusticetv.co.uk/livesey.webm
Cadets in fear of uniform killer. (1979, February 28). Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition), 5.
Cadet’s mother jailed for life. (1979, July 26). Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition), 5.
COLD CASE REVIEW: Timeline of events leading to the murder of the Tortured Teen. (2016, March 22). Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://www.lep.co.uk/news/cold-case-review-timeline-of-events-leading-to-the-murder-of-the-tortured-teen-786158
Heaton, S. (2014, July 14). Rough Justice Changed My Life. Inside Justice. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://www.insidejustice.co.uk/news/rough-justice-changed-my-life/26
Help us find this killer, pupils told. (1979, February 27). Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition), 5.
Hill, P., Young, M., & Sargant, T. (1985). More Rough Justice. Penguin.
Hunter, I. (1979, February 24). ARMY BOY BUTCHERED. Daily Mirror, 7.
IN BRIEF. (1979, February 28). Coventry Evening Telegraph, 12.
Mother cries as horror of son’s death is relived. . . (1979, July 4). Liverpool Echo, 7.
Mother knifed “disobedient” boy, court is told. (1979, July 2). Liverpool Echo, 1.
Murder charge mother “calmly drank cider.” (1979, July 3). Liverpool Echo, 7.
New inquiry opened in notorious case of the “˜Tortured Teenager.” (2016, March 22). Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://www.lep.co.uk/news/new-inquiry-opened-in-notorious-case-of-the-tortured-teenager-786138
THE CASE OF THE TORTURED TEENAGER: Background to the film. (n.d.). Rough Justice. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from http://www.roughjusticetv.co.uk/liveseybg.htm
