SWNS_CRIMEWATCH_SUSPECT_21

E-fit of a man released as part of the initial investigation into the murder of Julie Pacey in 1994. See SWNS story SWCRIME. An actor who played a prime suspect in a Crimewatch reconstruction more than 20 years ago was shocked when he was visited by police – after locals thought he was the suspect. Steve Watson, 53, replied to an advert from the BBC asking for an actor to play a person of interest in the Julie Pacey murder for the TV show. The mother-of-two, who had been strangled and sexually assaulted, was found dead in September 1994 at her home in Grantham, Lincolnshire. The appeal – filmed at Mrs Lacey’s home shortly after her death – featured a distinctive tall man wearing a blue boiler suit who police wanted to trace, played by Steve, then 31. The father – who bears an eerie resemblance to the police e-fit – claims he was abused by confused locals who bizarrely assumed he was the killer after his performance was aired. But the old appeal was re-shown on Crimewatch this summer after a breakthrough in the cold case and the young Steve was once-again shown on the prime-time programme. He was astonished when the appearance saw two separate people in the town call police and name Steve as the potential alleged murderer. Officers visited him at home in Newark, and took his DNA as a potential “suspect” – and are yet to eliminate him from the investigation four weeks later.