Paul Hutchinson was finally held accountable for the horrific murder and sexual assault of Colette Aram in January 2010, when he received a minimum sentence of 25 years at Nottingham Crown Court.

Colette, just 16 years old, was abducted while on her way to her boyfriend's house in Nicker Hill, Keyworth, at around 8pm on October 30, 1983. Hutchinson forced her into a stolen Ford Fiesta at knifepoint.

He sexually assaulted her before strangling her and discarding her naked body in a field off Thurlby Lane. Her brother, Mark, discovered her body the following day.

After committing the dreadful act, Hutchinson visited the Generous Briton pub in Costock where he had a drink and a sandwich and washed his hands. He left behind DNA evidence on a paper towel, which would eventually lead to his arrest. The landlady at the time had noticed blood on the man's hands and the paper towel, so she informed the police. But there was no DNA match at the time.

At the time of the murder, his family believed he was in hospital undergoing a lung removal operation due to cancer. To make this lie more convincing, he even shaved or cut his hair.

On the day of Colette's murder, Hutchinson, then 25, spent hours in a shed near a riding school, watching for girls returning home alone. When he failed to find a target, he stole a car and spent hours driving around looking for victims. Before abducting Colette, he approached two other girls.

The case was the first to be featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme when it launched in 1984. Hutchinson evaded justice for 26 years until 2009, when police got a lucky break.

Police were able to link the DNA samples collected from the crime scene and a towel used post-murder at the Generous Briton pub, in Costock, to that of his son, Jean-Paul, 20, who was apprehended in June 2008 for a driving offence.

The DNA turned out to be an almost perfect match to that of Colette's murderer.

Hutchinson, residing at Stockgill Close, Gamston, initially attempted to pin the murder on his deceased brother, but eventually confessed when police informed him that his brother's DNA did not match the evidence found at the crime scene.

The father of four also confessed to fellow inmates while awaiting trial that he was responsible for the teenager's death.

He admitted guilt in December 2009 and received a life sentence in January 2010.

At the time of his sentencing, Hutchinson, then 51, was in poor health, suffering from diabetes which had resulted in partial blindness.

Prior to his arrest, he was employed in the family's newspaper delivery business. Raised in Lady Bay, he attended Lady Bay Primary School until 1969 before moving on to Rushcliffe Comprehensive until 1974. He worked as an electrician for British Rail.

He alleged to have later attended university to earn a BA and MSc in psychology, however, this claim was revealed to be one of many falsehoods told by Hutchinson.

At the time of Colette's murder, his parents' residence was located on Seymour Road, West Bridgford, approximately 500 yards across open fields from where he stole the car used in Colette's abduction. He killed himself in prison nine months after he was locked up.