(Updates after 14th September will be at the bottom. For more follow- https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/truecrimesociety/uk-bernadette-walker-17-reported-missing-in-july-p-t216.html )
Note-Scott is Bernadette’s step father but she called him dad and many articles state he is her father.
Bernadette Walker was reported missing on the 21st July 2020 by her parents after she had not been seen for three days.
They reportedly told police she vanished after jumping out of their car in Skater’s Avenue, Walton, Peterborough, UK.
Her mother said she was wearing black leggings, with a black crop top and a denim jacket at the time of her disappearance but she may have changed into a black dress and some fishnets as these were found to be missing from her home. These items were later found under her bed, so she would have been wearing all black with a denim jacket on.
Her mother was handing out and putting up flyers
“We have had no contact with her since 1am on July 20, when she texted me to say she would be home soon. None of her friends have heard from her and she’s not accessed social media.”
“I can’t eat or sleep properly. I miss and love my eldest princess so much, she’s missing out on her baby sister, who has learned to smile and coo already. I have to think that she is hiding at one of her friend’s homes, worried about coming home now that the police will want to speak to her, I can’t think of any alternative scenarios, I just can’t.
“I know my baby girl wouldn’t be out in the open. She’s scared of being out in the dark alone, that’s what makes me think she’s at a friend’s house. I just wish someone would just say she’s here and she’s safe. I want to cuddle her, but right now I’d accept that she’s safe and well.”
https://www.peterboroughmatters.co.uk/local-news/peterborough-missing-girl-bernadette-walker-police-appeal-15847
Bernadette’s social media-
Twitter-https://twitter.com/Bernade71665401
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/bernadette.walker.100
TikTok
https://m.tiktok.com/h5/share/usr/6621622467591340038.html
Mothers facebook- https://www.facebook.com/spadley
Her mothers twitter-https://twitter.com/xxxbumpioxxx
Fathers facebook- https://www.facebook.com/scott.walker.3956690
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Constabulary said in August:
“Hundreds of people go missing every year and we need to assess each case on its own merit and prioritise them in terms of threat for their own or others’ safety, risk and harm.
“In this case, officers continue to carry out all available lines of enquiry in order to attempt to locate Bernadette who remains medium risk.”
On Friday 11th September that all changed when police declared the case as a murder investigation even though a body has not been found.
A woman in her 30s (Sarah Louise, Bernadette mother) from Peterborough was arrested on Saturday night and a man in his 50s, (her step father Scott) also from the town, remains in custody.
Det Supt Jon Hutchinson from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said:
“Due to the length of time Bernadette has been missing and concerns she may have come to some harm, we made the decision to declare this a murder investigation.”Whilst we hope we do find Bernadette alive and well, there is every possibility this may not be the case therefore my team and I will do everything possible to find out what has happened to her and bring any offenders to justice.”
Monday 14th September –
Sarah Walker, 37, and Scott Walker, 50, the girl’s parents, both of Century Square in Millfield, Peterborough, were charged with the murder of 17-year-old Bernadette Walker in the early hours of this morning (Monday, September 14).
Police have been carrying out enquiries and searches in an attempt to locate Bernadette, however a ‘no-body’ murder investigation was launched by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit on Friday September 11.
Detective Superintendent Jon Hutchinson said: “While my team have made significant progress with this investigation in the last few days, we are yet to find Bernadette therefore my plea is for anyone who has information on what has happened to her, or where she might be, to get in touch as a matter of urgency.”
Both Sarah and Scott have been remanded in custody to appear in court virtually today.
Bernadette has still not been found.
Past articles about the family-
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/mum-asks-strangers-help-making-10020156
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/crime/call-tackle-pavement-parking-city-1036533
Updates from this point onwards-
They were charged with murdering Bernadette on July 20.
Links-
8 days after she went missing-
https://www.peterboroughmatters.co.uk/local-news/peterborough-missing-girl-bernadette-walker-missing-person-15050
Two weeks after she went missing-https://www.peterboroughmatters.co.uk/local-news/peterborough-missing-girl-bernadette-walker-police-appeal-15847
Arrests–
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-54138554
Charges-
UPDATE 14th June 2021-
Bernadette Walker: Dad killed girl to silence sex abuse claims, court told
A teenage student was murdered by her father to silence her claims that he sexually abused her, a court has heard.
Bernadette Walker, 17, was last seen when Scott Walker, 51, picked her up from his parents’ Peterborough home, jurors heard. He denies her murder.
Prosecutors allege he and her mother Sarah Walker, 38, then formed an “unholy alliance” to cover up her death. Her body has never been found.
Both deny perverting the course of justice.
Prosecutor Lisa Wilding QC told Cambridge Crown Court that on 16 July Bernadette, also known as Bea, told her mother her father “had been sexually abusing her over a number of years”.
“Sarah Walker told Bernadette that she did not believe her,” said Ms Wilding.
More at link-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-57471768
Update 26th July 2021
Scott Walker was found guilty of the murder of Bernadette Walker by a jury at Cambridge crown court on Monday. Bernadette’s mother, Sarah Walker, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
The jury heard that Bernadette – who called Scott Walker “Dad” even though he was not her biological father – claimed to her mother two days before her disappearance that he had been sexually abusing her for several years.
Prosecutors said he killed Bernadette to “prevent her pursuing her allegations of sexual abuse any further”, and that her mother did not believe her accusations.
The prosecution said Scott Walker had formed an “unholy alliance” with Bernadette’s mother, who was his ex-partner, to cover up the girl’s death. Sarah Walker was found guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice, “knowing or believing” Bernadette to be dead.
She had admitted sending messages from her daughter’s phone after she disappeared and providing false information to the police relating to her disappearance.
More at link-
Sarah Walker was also found guilty of two further counts ‘knowing or believing’ Bernadette to be dead.
She wrote in her diary that her ‘abusive parents couldn’t’ give a s**t about’ her and warned she would be ‘killed’ if she accused him of sexually abusing her.
More at link- https://metro.co.uk/2021/07/27/teen-murdered-by-dad-wrote-in-diary-that-parents-threatened-to-kill-her-14993404/
Mothers 999 call, reporting Bernadette missing released by police
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/bernadette-walker-mum-police-call-2116284
Update- 10th September 2021
A man who murdered the teenage girl who called him her father, after she claimed he had sexually abused her “over a number of years”, has been sentenced to life in prison and must serve 32 years before he can be considered for release.