Ronald Castree

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Ronald Charles Edward Castree

Born	18 October 1953 Littleborough, Lancashire, England
Penalty	Life imprisonment
Status	In prison
Occupation	Taxi driver, Office Clerk, Comic Book Dealer.

Ronald Castree was convicted on 12 November 2007 for the murder of Lesley Molseed.^[1]

On Sunday 5 November 2006, it was announced that a 53 year old man had been arrested in connection with the murder of Lesley Molseed that had taken place in 1975.^[2] DNA evidence was alleged to have shown a "direct hit" with a sample found at the scene of the murder. Ronald Castree of Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester,^[3]^[4] was charged with the murder of Lesley Molseed and made his first court appearance on 7 November 2006 where he was remanded in custody. At a court hearing on 19 April 2007, Castree pleaded not guilty.^[5] On 23 April 2007 he was refused bail.^[6]

Castree's trial began at Bradford Crown Court on 22 October 2007.^[7] He was found guilty on 12 November 2007 and jailed for life,^[1] with a recommendation to serve a minimum of 30 years,^[8] which is expected to keep him in prison until the age of 84.

A DNA sample from Castree, taken in October 2005 when he was arrested but not charged in connection with another sex attack, was a direct match with a semen sample found on Lesley's underwear. During the trial a scientist has told a jury how DNA taken from the underwear of murdered schoolgirl Lesley Molseed were linked to the man accused of her murder. Dr Gemma Escott explained to Bradford Crown Court the chances of the semen samples belonging to anyone other than the defendant were one in a billion. Two weeks before he killed Molseed, Castree's wife gave birth to a son whose biological father was a man she had an affair with. It is believed this was a trigger into Castree's murder of Molseed.

Originally from the Turf Hill estate of Rochdale,^[9] for many years, Castree was a taxi driver who lived in nearby Shaw and Crompton.^[3] He was unpopular with his neighbours, who said he had a very nasty temper.^[3] His former wife said "he was foul with his mouth, and foul with his fists".^[3]

Stefan Kisko, a Civil Servant from Rochdale, spent seventeen years in prison for the murder of Molseed until scientific evidence showed he could not have committed the crime, evidence that was known to the police at the time but was suppressed and not disclosed to the defence. His conviction was overturned in 1992: He died a year later.