Daughter's plea to find the killer who murdered her dad with an axe in Mansfield Woodhouse

Emma Childerly was robbed of any lasting memories of her father when a ruthless killer broke into their family home in Mansfield Woodhouse on February 19, 1990, when she was just five years old.

As her defenceless mum and dad slept peacefully in bed, their killer climbed through a kitchen window brandishing an axe.

What came next was a brutal and sustained attack in the couple’s bedroom, leaving her dad bludgeoned to death and her mum fighting for her life in hospital.

Thirty-three years later those responsible have never been brought to justice despite an extensive police investigation and two arrests.

But police will never close the case and an advance in technology is being explored which could hold vital clues to evidence left at the scene.

'My dad was a wonderful man'

For Emma, now aged 38, it is an horrific event that has constantly remained with her despite how old she was when the crime occurred.

She is desperate to see her father’s killer behind bars after the crime tore her family apart and robbed her of a lifetime of memories.

Her dad never got the chance to be a granddad to her three children.

It has also deeply impacted her brother, Ben, who was aged just five months at the time and never got the chance to form a lasting bond with his dad.

She said: “I don’t have lots of memories of my dad because he was taken from us when I was just five, but my dad was a wonderful man and my best friend. I was a real daddy’s girl.

“He used to take me to school and pick up me every day on his motorbike. He would wear full black leathers with a big black helmet with the sun visor down and all the kids would be like ‘is your dad an astronaut?’ and I would be like ‘yeah he is’. He would pick me up every day in that outfit.

“I have lots of silly memories of him, he was a joker and a real family man.”

Emma remembers how her dad would carry her around the house on his back pretending he was a horse and Saturday nights in front of the television.

They would also make up their own routine to Madonna’s True Blue every time it appeared on Top of the Pops.

These are the things Emma has had to cling onto, brief and fleeting memories from childhood, as any chance of new ones were robbed on February 19, 1990.

Former miner Kevin Childerley, aged 30, lived on Sherwood Street, Mansfield Woodhouse with his wife Denise, 32, and their two young children.

During the early hours of Monday, February 19, 1990, they were attacked by an unknown offender as they lay asleep in bed. Entry to the house was gained by breaking a downstairs window.

Both were struck repeatedly in the head with a sharp object believed to be an axe or meat cleaver.

Kevin was killed, while Denise, despite receiving life altering injuries to her head and face, survived the attack with a total of 160 stitches and needing one of her eyes removed.

The attack happened while their young two children were also asleep.

Police attended after they were contacted by a concerned neighbour and a murder investigation was launched.

Emma said: “I just remember being woken up and taken downstairs behind this policeman in the pitch black. We didn’t put any lights on whatsoever.

“I was put in the next-door neighbour’s bed, and I remember lying there in my pyjamas. I remember the neighbour stroking my hair and crying and obviously I didn’t have a clue what was going on.”

A few days later, she was told her dad was dead and her mum was fighting for her life in hospital.

Two men were charged with murder and attempted murder at the time, but the case against them was later discontinued by the courts.

Emma said: “The wounds were so horrific I’m told the coffin had to remain closed on the day of his funeral. This meant family never got to say goodbye.

“It pains me that my dad’s last moments were full of agonising pain and suffering, attacked when he was at his most vulnerable, asleep in his own bed.

“I just plead and urge people who know something to come forward, even if it is the smallest piece of information, please let the police know.

“We have had a big passage of time now and whatever those fears might be of not coming forward at the time, they won’t be as strong now.

“Finding my dad’s killer would mean we could finally have some closure – it would mean the world to me.”

‘Wounds inflicted were personal’

Emma is a funeral director and has set up a business in her dad’s name, hoping to offer dignity and compassion to those who have also lost loved ones.

She says she wants to make her dad “proud every day” rather than let the brutal crime continue to tear her life apart.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said: “This was a premediated attack, with the sole intention to kill Kevin and Denise. The wounds inflicted were personal and it was only by chance Denise survived.

“It maybe 33 years since this horrific crime, but we are still determined to catch the person responsible and are constantly reviewing the investigation tools now available to us, which were not in place in the 1990s.

“On the evening of February 19, the couple had visited the British Legion Club in Mansfield Woodhouse, while the children were left with a babysitter. The evening was normal, with them drinking with friends.

"Having returned home and watched some television, they went to bed at around midnight. They were then subjected to an horrific attack while they slept.

“Thirty-three years on and the investigation is still very much active. This crime happened in a tightknit community, and we know that someone will hold vital information about what happened that night.

“Did you see or hear something that night? Did someone disclose information to you before or after the murder?

“There may have been some people that withheld information at the time or were reluctant to come forward. I would urge you to do so now.

“It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, please call us, it could prove to be a vital part in our investigation.

“We want to put the person responsible behind bars and help the family receive the justice they desperately deserve.”

Commitment

Detective Chief Inspector Clare Dean, who is investigating the incident, said: “Thirty- three years on and our commitment to catch the killer will never wane.

“This is a crime that will have rocked the community of Mansfield Woodhouse and we know there is someone out there that will have information, no matter how small, that could help us progress our investigation.

"We would urge you to get in touch immediately.

Anyone with information can call 101 quoting incident number 302 of 16 February 2023 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or provide information through our online portal here.