THE MOTHER of a prostitute found brutally murdered last year has made a fresh plea for news which may lead to the capture of her killer.

Mrs Theresa Hulme, 59, from Bury, never got the chance to say goodbye to her daughter, Julie Jones, 32, whose naked body was found badly beaten under bushes in Old Smithfield Market, Manchester.

All she has left of her daughter are photographs, memories and her most precious possession - a lock of Julie's hair.

But the grandmother, who now looks after Julie's two young children, is determined to be able to let her daughter finally rest in peace.

And that, she says, can only happen with the capture of Julie's killer.

Theresa was a special guest at a meeting of the English Collective of Prostitutes this week for launch of a new report highlighting violence against prostitutes.

She hopes the publicity may help to jog somebody's memory and lead to the arrest of the murderer.

She said: "I just want someone to find the killer so that Julie can rest in peace. I am 59 and it will mean that I will be able to die satisfied in that knowledge."

Julie, who lived in Ancoats at the time of her death, went missing on June 27, and her body was discovered on July 3 last year.

Theresa said: "I saw Julie about a week before she went missing. She seemed her normal self. A woman walking her dog found her in the bushes, but we were never able to identify her body because we were told her face was too deformed.

"It meant I never got the opportunity to say goodbye.

"When we buried her I felt it could have been anyone in that coffin. All I have left of her is a lock of her hair which was given to me after her murder."

Theresa lives close to Julie's final resting place at Bury Cemetery, and she visits her daughter's grave every day. She takes care of Julie's two sons - one aged 14 years and the other just two.

She added: "It is a tragedy that the baby will never know his mother. He keeps asking where his mum is and I keep telling him she's in heaven.

"I just want justice for my daughter. I still find it hard to believe she has been murdered. You think it will never happen to you. It is like something out of the movies - it is devastating.

"Julie was a very, very happy child from a close knit family.

"I hate the name prostitute. Once you use that word people seem to look upon them in a different way.

"The women are out working like anyone else. They do not choose to do it and they all have mothers and families who love them. It is not easy. They realise that when they go out they are taking their life in their hands. But often it is a last resort - what else can they do?"

Despite the time which has passed, the police have no strong evidence to work on. Theresa said: "I am desperate for some positive leads. I would hate for her killing to be put into a corner and forgotten."

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