Julie Ward murder: Bury St Edmunds family still fighting for the truth of 1988 Kenya killing

‘Julie deserves justice’ – That is the verdict of a Bury St Edmunds family still fighting to expose the full facts about a high-profile murder in Kenya 37 years ago.

The family of Julie Ward are still conducting their long-running investigation into her brutal death in the Masai Mara game reserve, in September 1988.

And now, they are speaking out as dramatic new evidence emerged after being locked in a police safe in Lewisham for years.

Meanwhile, the family’s formal complaint about the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the murder investigation has reached a ‘frustrating’ conclusion – with the body deciding no further action would be taken.

Julie was 28 when she was raped and killed while travelling in Kenya.

When learning his daughter was missing, her father John Ward flew to Kenya and chartered a private plane to search for his daughter. After Julie’s charred remains were discovered, local police initially refused to launch a murder inquiry – telling the media she was eaten by animals or had taken her own life – and John started his own investigation.

In October 1989, Kenyan authorities accepted Julie had been murdered – sparking John’s quest to find her killer and see them brought to justice.

John, who once owned the former Butterfly Hotel, in Bury St Edmunds, spent millions and 35 years investigating the case. He and his wife Jan died in 2023, with Mr Ward always believing that Julie’s murder was ‘covered up’ by the Kenyan authorities to protect high-ranking officials.

He also accused the UK Government of helping to keep the truth hidden.

But Bob and Tim Ward, Julie’s brothers, are continuing the family’s search for the truth and hope that one day everything will come out.

“We want Julie to be remembered,” said Bob. “People used to ask Dad ‘why do you do this?’. Anyone who knew Julie knew what a gentle soul she was. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. She didn’t deserve her last few days. So you naturally want to fight for justice.

“I am always conscious that Julie is often described as ‘safari girl’ or ‘photographer’. I want people to know her, who she was. That’s important. She went on an adventure and she was brutally murdered, but who she was – her personality – got lost somewhere along the line.”

Julie’s family has long believed they know what happened to her, however the prime suspect died of cancer in 2019.

A bombshell statement, which the Met Police had in 2011, places that suspect close to the scene at the time.

“The Met had done nothing [with that statement], other than lock it in a safe,” said Bob. “He was still alive in 2011 and yet he lived the rest of his life as a free man.

“No action has ever been taken over this statement. It should have been investigated. We have had no answer as to why it hasn’t been.”

It was that lack of action which prompted the family’s formal complaint against the Met Police.

“In that complaint there are at least 100 aspects where I believe they have done something wrong with the investigation. I asked for answers and I haven’t had one,” said Bob.

“Right from the word go there’s been something very wrong with the Scotland Yard investigation. Right from the word go, the narrative was to support the Kenyans.

“Where do you go if you want to fight your own national police force and your own Government?”

This week, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “In 2018 we exhausted all lines of inquiry and suspended the investigation into the murder of Julie Ward.

“This decision was not taken lightly and our thoughts remain with Julie’s family. We have been clear that detectives would consider any new information provided to them to determine whether it represented a new and significant line of inquiry.”

Bob said they were assessing their next steps and described the ‘spider’s web’ case as ‘better than a John le Carré novel’.

“At the heart of it, Julie deserves justice. I don’t think she will get it but the people from our side should be brought to book,” said Bob.

“It is the sheer weight of evidence – if you put it in front of 100 jurors I would be amazed if 99 didn’t say ‘there’s something wrong here and it needs further investigation’.

“This is a story of a government letting down a citizen. I am just taking up the fight.”

A podcast series about the case will be released later this summer.

Timeline

• 1988: Julie Ward is raped and killed in the Masai Mara, Kenya.
• 1989: Kenyan authorities accept Julie was murdered, sparking her father John’s quest to find her killer.
• 1992: Two park rangers go on trial but are cleared due to lack of evidence. The judge says there had been a cover-up to protect tourism.
• 1999: A head warden also stands trial, but is acquitted.
• 2001: The Police Complaints Authority supervises a Lincolnshire Police investigation into Scotland Yard’s handling of the case.
• 2004: A Suffolk inquest rules Julie died from unlawful killing.
• 2005: The Police Complaints Authority refuses to release some of the Lincolnshire Police report, blaming the High Commission in Kenya and the Foreign Office.
• 2023: Jan and John Ward die within weeks of one another. Julie’s brothers Tim and Bob vow to carry on fighting for justice.