Across Bucks, there are murders that have never been solved and people who have never been found.
The heartbreak of knowing that a loved one was taken away in a callous and despicable manner has left many families devastated.
Some cold cases are solved after decades of detective work, while others remain a mystery.
Here are five unsolved murders in Buckinghamshire.
Number 5: John Sheppard, 66: December 1994: Aylesbury
John Sheppard was killed in December 1994 in Aylesbury
Described by friends as ‘Gentle John’, John Sheppard’s death is still unsolved just over two-and-a-half-decades since he was brutally stabbed more than 40 times in his chest and back on December 3, 1994.
John was attacked in the John Horwood Betting Shop on Cambridge Street, which has since been replaced.
He was found at around 6.30pm that evening after he failed to meet a friend.
John was 66-years-old at the time of his death.
On the 25th anniversary of his passing, Thames Valley Police spoke to John’s daughter, Emma Meir, who lives in Australia who said in an emotional video: “Someone will know the murderer.
“Somebody needs to have the courage to come forward to be able to put the perpetrator to justice for what they did to my father.
"I would be grateful if someone could take ownership.
“You think you can get over it but you actually really don’t.”
Currently, two rewards, totalling £20,000 have been offered by Thames Valley Police and the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on conviction of an offender.
Click here to listen to Emma Meir's tribute about her dad, John Sheppard, in December 2019
Number 4: Carolyn Anne Jackson, 50: April 1997: Wooburn Green
Carolyn Anne Jackson was killed in April 1997
Carolyn, who worked from home as an antique jewellery dealer, was found dead in the kitchen of Apple Tree Cottage in Burghers Hill in Wooburn Green, in the spring of 1997 having been tied up, beaten and asphyxiated.
Two months before she died, Carolyn had reported to the police several times that she was being stalked.
The first occasion was when a person followed her in a vehicle near her home, whilst the other was when she spotted a person standing outside her house.
Due to the unsettling nature of this, the police searched the area around her house with tracker dogs but could find no trace of the man.
The police added that she had also reported other incidents.
The person responsible for her killing has never been brought to justice.
READ MORE: Carolyn Anne Jackson's inquest from 1999
READ MORE: What a psychic said about Carolyn Anne Jackson's murder
Number 3: Natasha Derby, 23: September 2004: High Wycombe
Natasha Derby died in September 2004
The 23-year-old had organised a music event on September 3, 2004, at the Multicultural Centre on St Mary Street in High Wycombe, when she was standing near the exit at around 2.30am on September 4.
Suddenly, a gunshot was heard and around 100 people who were on the dancefloor at the time enjoying themselves at the event that Natasha had organised, ran away in fear.
She was later taken to hospital and was placed on a life support machine after the bullet had hit her in the head, entering her brain.
Her machine was turned off on September 5, 2004.
To this day, the gun has never been found and despite two separate being tried for Natasha’s murder (2005) and for her manslaughter (2009), they were both acquitted and Natasha’s death remains unsolved.
READ MORE: Two women and a man arrested in connection with the shooting of Natasha Derby
Number 2: Beata Bryl, 23: July 2006: Wooburn Green
Beata Bryl was killed in July 2006
Beata Bryl, who was originally from Gliwice in Poland, was found beaten and burned in the woods near Hedsor Lane in Wooburn Green on July 28, 2006.
Due to the devastating nature of her attack, it took four weeks for Beata to be identified by the authorities due to the extent of the burns.
She was also brutally bludgeoned to death with a blunt object and suffered 21 lacerations on her scalp.
Her body was found by a motorist, who had pulled over for a ‘call of nature’, in woodland off Hedsor Lane at about 12.50pm on July 29, 2006, and due to the serious nature of the crime, Beata’s death was featured on the BBC One show, ‘Crimewatch’ in 2007.
She was last seen alive in Leytonstone Underground Station on July 28, 2006 and in June 2014, Thames Valley Police launched a fresh appeal for information to help solve Beata’s murder.
READ MORE: Fresh appeals for the murder of Beata Bryl near High Wycombe
Number 1: Mustaphur Charkaui, 57: March 2007: Aylesbury
Mustaphur Charkaui died in March 2007
In a truly shocking case, Mustaphur Charkaui was at home with his wife, Christina, when two people broke into their house on Dunsham Lane by smashing one of the rear windows on March 12, 2007.
Mustaphur was hit over the head with a spade whilst Christina was chased upstairs and suffered deep lacerations to the forehead and eyes after also being hit.
He sadly died 11 days later.
At the time of the murder, a Crimestoppers appeal offered £50,000 to anyone who could provide information that led to a conviction.
No-one has ever been convicted but as of January 2021, a private investigator is now working on the case to bring justice to Mustaphur’s family.
If you have any information on Mustaphur’s murder, please contact the police or justiceformustafa@hotmail.com.
For more information, visit www.unsolved-murders.co.uk.
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