Murder of Vera Holland

At the time of her death, Vera Holland (born ) lived with her third husband, Brian, on St Barnabas Road in Shinfield Rise, south Reading, Berkshire. The couple shared a milk delivery round in nearby Wokingham. == Disappearance and death ==

At 6:10 pm on 14 November 1996, Holland left her home to make a three-minute walk to the KFC restaurant on Shinfield Road. She was wearing a three-quarter-length pink coat, green tartan skirt, black jumper and black shoes. The time of year meant that it was dark when she left. There was no sign of her on CCTV reaching her destination, and it is believed that she never made it to the restaurant. Brian reported her missing at 10.45 pm when she had failed to return home. At 5:30 am on 16 November, a member of the public alerted the fire service to a blaze by the side of the A327 between Shinfield and Arborfield, at an illegal fly-tipping site at Two Bridges. The site was approximately south of Holland's home. After the fire had been extinguished, Holland's body was discovered in a carpet. Traces of her blood were found on the carpet and she was partially clothed in her undergarments. The post-mortem found that she had died of strangulation, and she had bruising to her face. There was no sign of sexual assault. The other items of clothing which Vera had been wearing at the time of her disappearance were found in the burning pile. == Police investigation ==

Eighty police officers from Thames Valley Police were involved in the investigation into Holland's death in the first year. At the height of the investigation 1,669 people were interviewed and 777 statements were taken. Over 100,000 leaflets appealing for information were sent out to local people. Road checks were held where her body had been found, and a female police officer reenacted Holland's walk to KFC. In February 1997, police put up road signs in the area where Holland's body was found, appealing for information. Witness statements provided police with a number of leads regarding vehicles in the area at the time: • Two sightings of a light-coloured Ford Fiesta shortly after 5 am on 16 November near the entrance to Hall Farm, across the bridge from where Holland's body had been found. It was seen to drive off at speed on to the farm estate. • A white Transit van seen several times for lengthy spells on 15 November in the location of Two Bridges. Police believed that Holland's body had been left inside the carpet for more than a day before it was taken to the fly-tip. They believed she was killed and then placed in the carpet until the evening of 15 November; witnesses stated that Holland's body was not at the site before 4 pm. After the appeal was made, police said that almost forty people contacted them with information about the carpet. Arrests At 6:30 am on 17 December 1996, Holland's second husband and his wife were arrested. They lived just a few houses from the Hollands. They were released on bail after 13 hours of questioning. In January 1997, Brian Holland was arrested in connection with Vera's death. He was held for a day before being released on police bail. In March 1997, Brian threatened to take legal action against Thames Valley Police over the handling of the case. No one else has been arrested or charged in connection with Holland's death. == Funeral and inquest ==

On 20 June 1997, Holland's funeral was held at Reading Crematorium in Caversham. On 16 October 1997, an inquest recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. The East Berkshire coroner, Robert Wilson, told the inquest, "It looks like the person who did this will get away with it." == Later developments ==

In November 2016, on the 20th anniversary of Holland's death, two of her children made a new appeal for information alongside Thames Valley Police. In January 2017, Thames Valley Police announced that new witnesses had come forward leading to further investigations, but no arrests had been made. ==See also==