Rachel Wilson killing: Keith Hall jailed for 2002 attack

A man who got a teenage girl hooked on drugs and forced her into prostitution to fund his own habit before killing her has been jailed.

Rachel Wilson, 19, went missing in Middlesbrough in 2002. Her body was found on a farm 10 years later.

Keith Hall, 62, lied for years about dumping her body in a shallow grave but kept a lock of her hair in his wallet, Cleveland Police said.

He was jailed for 18-and-a-half years after admitting manslaughter.

Hall, of Lambton Road in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, also admitted living off prostitution money earned by his victim and perverting the course of justice.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had not been able to pursue a murder conviction because it would have been "very difficult" to prove Hall's intent.

Ms Wilson was last seen in May 2002 and her disappearance was the subject of multiple police appeals until June 2012, when her remains were found in a shallow grave on farmland near Coulby Newham.

The perverting the course of justice charge related to Hall trying to get a witness to change a police statement about a comment in which he incriminated himself over Ms Wilson's death.

No details have ever been given about how she died.

Jonathan Sandiford QC, prosecuting, said: "By the time Rachel Wilson disappeared in May 2002 her existence had become a misery, blighted by her own addiction to controlled drugs but also by the mistreatment and violence she received at the hands of the defendant."

'Compulsive liar'

Witnesses said she was afraid of Hall and sometimes had bruises on her neck and body from his attacks.

It was suspected that he beat her one final time, killing her when she returned after a night on the streets with what Hall thought was not enough cash, although the judge said no-one apart from the defendant knew exactly what had happened.

Temporary Det Supt Paula Dewell said Hall was a "compulsive liar" who concocted "convoluted stories" to try and get away with the killing.

She said a lock of Ms Wilson's hair was found in his wallet along with a note written by her apologising for "not making enough money" which was effectively her "last written words".

Ms Dewell said Hall had been spoken to "eight or nine times" by police after Ms Wilson went missing, but it was only when her body was found in 2012 and an official murder inquiry was launched that people came forward with "significant" information about him.

She said Hall met Ms Wilson when she was 15 or 16 and quickly started a relationship with her.

'Happy and bubbly'

He then introduced her to crack cocaine and used "physical and psychological abuse" to push her into prostitution to fund his habit.

Ms Wilson's sister Nicola Wilson said: "The Rachel we remember was very happy and bubbly. She was amazing.

"Anybody can get sucked into that lifestyle and as we know now Rachel was forced into it.

"She was a child and wouldn't have had any idea of what was happening to her. That was heart-breaking."

She also said it was a "torment" for the family not knowing what had happened to Ms Wilson for so long.

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