There were two men involved. They could have been long-distance travellers or lorry drivers. A witness described them as outdoor type workers and they had Cockney accents enough to cause people to remember them in Oldham
They went to the Albion Hotel in Oldham High Street on the evening of SEPTEMBER 2nd, 1965, after apparently asking passers-by about the best pubs to visit. The Albion was the favourite haunt of Edith Gleave, 38, a bakery worker, of Ashton Road, Oldham, who, according to witnesses, struck up a conversation with the two strangers. Later she was seen leaving the hotel with them.
Next day, Saturday, September 3rd, Ediths half-naked body was found on waste ground in the centre of Stockport 10 miles away from Oldham. She had been raped and possibly suffocated.
The post-mortem showed that she had eaten a meal just prior to her death. Inquiries revealed that this could have been in a café in the Stockport area. There was a possibility that she was still alive when she was dumped and death may have been caused by the violence of the rape.
The very observant landlord of the Albion remembered the two men well. He said that the younger one, aged about 38, wore gold cuff-links, was about 5ft 10in, had a dark complexion, dark, parted hair, very white natural teeth and a slightly hooked nose. He wore a heavy gold ring with a black oblong stone bearing a red design on the ring finger of his left hand.
The older man, about 45, smoked cigars, was 5ft 8in, stockily-built with a babyish face, ruddy complexion, white or grey hair and a beer belly.
A woman who refused to give her name called the Stockport Advertiser claiming she could identify the older man right down to the cigar he was smoking. The police said that the call was similar to many they had received.