A WRITER has praised the “amazing” response he has received from Islanders in his research into a notorious unsolved murder from the 1960s.
Mark Bridgeman, author of 14 true-crime books, recently visited Jersey to investigate the murder of Tuula Höök, a 20-year-old waitress and au pair from Finland who was found bludgeoned to death in a field in St Clement on New Year’s Eve 1966.
During his four-day visit, Mr Bridgeman met officers from the States of Jersey Police, as well as acquaintances of Miss Höök and people who had responded to an article in the JEP. He expresses his thanks to those who had helped him in a letter published in the print and online editions of today’s newspaper.
“The response has been amazing, with so many people coming forward with snippets of information and memories which might help piece together what happened on that fateful night,” he said.
Several specific leads had come out of the visit and subsequent conversations, he added, listing some of the themes he hoped to explore further ahead of the book’s publication, scheduled for early next year.
These included names of work colleagues of Miss Höök from November and December 1966, the owner of a light-blue car, possibly a Vauxhall Viva or a French car of similar appearance, and residents of St Clement and Georgetown. He also hopes to talk to anyone who found discarded items which might have belonged to a female, in their partner’s or friend’s car, or who knew anyone who bought or sold a car in January 1967.
Prior to leaving Jersey, Mr Bridgeman said he had been surprised by the number of people with recollections of events from almost six decades ago.
“Some of them have ideas about what could have happened, but have never previously said anything. There’ve been some interesting things mentioned that I’m going to be researching further,” he said.
Miss Höök first visited Jersey from Finland as a 19-year-old student in 1965, returning the following spring. Mystery surrounds her final movements on 30 December 1966, and the following day she was found in a field in St Clement, having been bludgeoned to death.
The shocking murder baffled investigating officers at the time and has remained unsolved in spite of multiple cold case reviews.
Mr Bridgeman, who is working with surviving members of Miss Höök’s family, has also been contacted by a journalist from a publication in Finland.
The author can be contacted by emailing mark@markbridgemanauthor.co.uk.
