Debbie Schlesinger was murdered after a night out in Leeds

On Thursday, 21st April, 1977, best friends Pat Power and Debbie Schlesinger were with a wider group of friends who went into Leeds for a night out.

Debbie Schlesinger was only eighteen-years-old, worked in a supermarket and still lived with her parents on the Hawksworth Estate in Horsforth, which is situated on the road from Leeds to Bingley.

After the night out the group took a bus home. After getting off the bus Pat and Debbie walked up to the houses in Craigside Walk. When they got to Pat’s house Debbie continued on towards her house, which was only fifty yards from Pat's.

Before Debbie got to her house a man appeared and stabbed her through the heart. She managed to run towards the Conservative Club. Debbie Schlesinger collapsed and died in the doorway of the Conservative Club. Debbie's attacker followed her to the doorway before making off.

The witnesses at the scene were able to give a clear description of the attacker:

• He was a white man
• He had dark hair and a beard
• He was about thirty years old
• He was five feet six inches tall

Detective Superintendent Jim Hobson was to take the lead on the murder inquiry. DS Jim Hobson had led the unsuccessful hunt for Tracy Browne’s attacker.

The police believed the murderer was somebody local and that they would be caught quickly. This was not the case - on both counts.

Pat Power thought the murderer could be the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, and raised her concerns with the police. Pat was told that the Yorkshire Ripper only worked in red-light areas, so they didn't consider him as a suspect.

Many years later a policeman trying to bring closure for some of the families found some vital paperwork.

He found a worksheet for Peter William Sutcliffe, provided by his employers, T. & W. H. Clark (Holdings Ltd), showing that late in the afternoon he delivered empty axle squares and a front axle to a company called Kirkstall Forge.

Its premises were less than a hundred yards from Craigside Walk.