The True Crime Library reports that Josephine Backshall’s watch had stopped at 8:10. The only other clue police had was the name “Peter.” Backshall herself had previously described him as an experienced photographer in his early 30’s who was “knowledgeable about perfumes and women’s toiletries.” Police later discovered that other women nearby had been offered modeling jobs by Peter after putting out ads in the local newspaper. The others had all turned him down. Sadly, with no other leads to go on, the case would go cold.

In 2009, decades after their mother’s death, The Mirror writes that Backshall’s children made a public plea to find her killer. Christopher, Sarah, and Emma were only 12, 10, and seven respectively at the time of her murder. They expressed that Backshall “was taken away from us” and that they had “endured 35 years of not knowing why.”

Shortly after, detectives stated that they had a “good response from the public” and had received several calls with information (via the BBC). Per another article from the BBC, an Essex man was later questioned about Backshall’s death in 2010 but to no avail. As of 2022, Josephine Backshall’s killer is unknown. According to Defrosting Cold Cases, U.K. authorities are still asking the public for help to solve the case.