A woman was heard to say See you later, as she left Fred Jeffs sweetshop on the night of Friday, April 19th, 1957. A woman of the same description was seen getting into Jeffs grey van at 11 p.m. that night.
An hour or two after that sighting, Jeffs was murdered by a blow that smashed in his skull. His body was found by children in Park Lane, Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham.
The grey van was found abandoned at Witton, near Aston Villas football ground. Inside it was bloodstained hair, and there were plenty more bloodstains on the outside of the vehicle.
How was the mystery woman involved? Despite police appeals, she never came forward.
Jeffs was being sued by his wife for divorce and, according to his sister, had lately been a very frightened man. His small business appeared to be trading much higher than normal, and a considerable amount of cash was missing from the till.
The sweetshop man had a reputation for womanising. Press reports at the time claimed he was living it up with a whole string of women. So was one of them blackmailing him? And was she the one who led him to his killer?