Sky documentary investigates murder of Bury grandmother Shirley Leach

Bury pensioner Shirley Leach was murdered in the toilets at Bury Interchange while waiting to catch her bus home after visiting her daughter in hospital on January 6, 1994.

The mum-of-two was found the next day in the cubicle, a tragedy that rocked the town.

The RTS award winning series Forensics: Catching The Killer will focus on the murder of Mrs Leach in the latest episode at 9pm tonight on Sky Crime.

The show will cover how investigators finally uncovered the perpetrator behind the 1994 murder of the grandmother at the bathroom of the bus station after 12 years of going unsolved.

Interviews with the detective chief inspector who solved the case, a forensic scientist who worked on the case and local people who it impacted and were at the scene, will be shown during the documentary.

There will be never-before-seen crime scene pictures and footage of the bus station on that cold January morning.

Mrs Leach has been strangled and mutilated as her murderer, Ian O’Callaghan, had gone back to the crime scene to cut off one of her breasts with a sharp glass.

The shocking crime brought fear to the residents of Bury as the bus station became a “no go” area at night and women were warned to stay in well-lit areas.

The previous evening, Mrs Leach, aged 66, had visited her daughter, Beryl, at Fairfield General Hospital.

She left the Rochdale Old Road hospital with her 19-year-old grandson, Darren, at 8.20pm and the pair stopped at a nearby pub for one drink before making their way to the bus stop.

At 9pm, they caught the 469 bus into Bury town centre, with Darren getting off at Bell Lane and waving his grandmother goodbye.

Mrs Leach arrived at the interchange at around 9.15pm, and while waiting for her connection home, she visited the toilets, where the crime happened.

Detectives launched an extensive hunt for the murder suspect but O’Callagham was not found until 12 years later when he was stopped for drink driving in Moston.

A DNA check found his to match the crime and he was arrested and charged with her murder and in November 2006 was ordered to serve a minimum term of 28 years in prison.