Who were the Steeltown Murders’ victims?
THE victims of Joseph Kappen were young women robbed of their bright and promising futures.
Their tragic story will be told in the upcoming BBC series Steeltown.
Who was Geraldine Hughes?
Geraldine Hughes was 16 years old at the time of her murder in 1973. She was described by the Guardian as bubbly with a big laugh.
The Guardian stated that Geraldine worked in a sewing factory, earning £16 a week.
Geraldine was with her friend Pauline at the time of her abduction. Both girls left together but never made it home.
Geraldine’s cousin Julie Begley told the BBC after the DNA findings: “No words can describe the way we all felt, it was a huge relief,
“None of us ever stopped hoping that one day we would find out who he was. Although you get on with your life, it never goes away.
“Geraldine was a fantastic girl. She was always full of fun.”
Who was Pauline Floyd?
Pauline Floyd was clubbing with Geraldine Hughes on the night of her murder.
She was also 16 years old.
Pauline also worked at the same sewing factory, earning £16 a week.
As cabs were expensive and there was no public transport and it was raining, the girls did not hesitate to accept Kapper’s offer of a lift home.
Pauline and Geraldine were found within 50 metres of each other, described in The Guardian as looking like broken mannequins dumped in a forest.
Who was Sandra Newton?
Sandra Newton was 15 years old when she passed, three months before the murders of Geraldine and Pauline.
She had been out with her boyfriend at a club in Britton Ferry, the neighbouring village where Geraldine and Pauline were found.
Sandra was last seen walking home before disappearing, only to be found dead the next day.
“I’ve been going down to her grave for 49 years and it’s hard to believe she’s there,” said Sandra’s friend Theresa May.
“My beautiful friend. She had her life taken away from her, her future taken away from her.
“I still think about her now. All these things that we could have and should have done together.
“But after all of those years, she can finally rest in peace now.”
What happened to Joseph Kappen?
Joseph Kappen passed away in 1990 from lung cancer.
He evaded justice for 30 years due to the limitations of DNA testing and technology of the 1970s.
In the early 2000s DNA taken from a car thief matched the DNA found on the personal belongings of the three girls.
The car thief was Joseph’s son, who was only seven years old at the time of the murders.
This DNA discovery eventually led to the exhumation of Joseph’s body and the DNA-matched samples taken from his femur and teeth.