M50 murder may be looked at again

The question of who murdered Marie Wilks remains unsolved

The murder of a pregnant woman who was killed after her car broke down on the M50 is likely to be reopened.

A major forensic review of the Marie Wilks case may begin later this year, West Mercia police have said.

The 22-year-old mother, who was seven months pregnant, had stopped at a layby on the motorway in Worcestershire in 1988 when her throat was cut.

Eddie Browning, of Rhondda, south Wales, served five years in jail for murder but was freed on appeal in 1994.

Judges had decided that his conviction was unsafe because of fears over the accuracy of a key witness's evidence.

DNA advances

The original trial was told that Ms Wilks, from Warndon, Worcestershire, had been driving on the M50 in June 1988 when her car broke down.

She was trying to call for assistance on a motorway emergency phone when another car drew up and a man got out.

He attacked her and her body was found on an embankment of the M50 near Strensham 24 hours later.

In a statement, West Mercia Police said: "No unsolved case is ever closed and we are always keen to hear from anyone who has information for police which they haven't previously reported to us."