A Calderdale murder that was likened to a plot from “an Agatha Christie thriller” has still not been solved four decades later.
Alexander "Sandy" McClelland's badly decomposed corpse was found in the boot of his own pale green Ford Cortina at a car park in Bethel Street, in Brighouse, on October 7, 1985.
Despite extensive investigations, the case remains on West Yorkshire Police’s unsolved list.
Initially, detectives suspected suicide but a murder hunt began after a post-mortem examination revealed Mr McClelland died of stab wounds.
Bethel Street car park in Brighouse, where the body was found, pictured in 1985
Officers investigating the case at the time described the 66-year-old's murder as baffling.
"It has all the ingredients of an Agatha Christie thriller, " said Det Chief Supt Tom Newton, head of Eastern area CID in West Yorkshire.
Retired railway signalman Mr McClelland, of Willow Garth Avenue in Whinmoor, Leeds, had been missing from his home since September 12 – three years to the day since his second wife, Norma, died.
He was reported missing by his stepson, Brian Horne, on September 15.
Alexander McClelland
His car was spotted parked in the Brighouse car park for a few weeks before police made the grisly discovery.
Mr McClelland's body was found after the steward of Brighouse Wheelers Working Men's Club, Peter Brown, contacted officers.
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He was concerned about the amount of time the car had been outside the back of the club, and the amount of attention his dog had kept paying it.
The body was wrapped in an Army-issue bedspread. Mr McClelland was wearing jeans four inches too long for him, with an Army balaclava pulled down over his face.
Laser scans discovered the name "Kellett" written inside the balaclava and a salmon pink laundry ticket stapled to the blanket.
The pensioner was not a well man and had undergone an operation for bowel cancer. The week before he disappeared, he was due to go to hospital for a kidney operation but that was put off.
In the following weeks, efforts to trace the murder weapon, thought to be a "sharp instrument", went unrewarded despite extensive searches of the nearby canal.
More than 300 viewers contacted police following a dramatic reconstruction of the case on Crimewatch – but it failed to yield any fresh clues.
Anyone who has information that might help police should call them on 101
Alexander "Sandy" McClelland's badly decomposed corpse was found in the boot of his own pale green Ford Cortina at a car park in Bethel Street, in Brighouse, on October 7, 1985.
Despite extensive investigations, the case remains on West Yorkshire Police’s unsolved list.
Initially, detectives suspected suicide but a murder hunt began after a post-mortem examination revealed Mr McClelland died of stab wounds.
Bethel Street car park in Brighouse, where the body was found, pictured in 1985
Officers investigating the case at the time described the 66-year-old's murder as baffling.
"It has all the ingredients of an Agatha Christie thriller, " said Det Chief Supt Tom Newton, head of Eastern area CID in West Yorkshire.
Retired railway signalman Mr McClelland, of Willow Garth Avenue in Whinmoor, Leeds, had been missing from his home since September 12 – three years to the day since his second wife, Norma, died.
He was reported missing by his stepson, Brian Horne, on September 15.
Alexander McClelland
His car was spotted parked in the Brighouse car park for a few weeks before police made the grisly discovery.
Mr McClelland's body was found after the steward of Brighouse Wheelers Working Men's Club, Peter Brown, contacted officers.
Read More
Cold cases: 'Body in the boot', man dumped in reservoir and six other unsolved C...
He was concerned about the amount of time the car had been outside the back of the club, and the amount of attention his dog had kept paying it.
The body was wrapped in an Army-issue bedspread. Mr McClelland was wearing jeans four inches too long for him, with an Army balaclava pulled down over his face.
Laser scans discovered the name "Kellett" written inside the balaclava and a salmon pink laundry ticket stapled to the blanket.
The pensioner was not a well man and had undergone an operation for bowel cancer. The week before he disappeared, he was due to go to hospital for a kidney operation but that was put off.
In the following weeks, efforts to trace the murder weapon, thought to be a "sharp instrument", went unrewarded despite extensive searches of the nearby canal.
More than 300 viewers contacted police following a dramatic reconstruction of the case on Crimewatch – but it failed to yield any fresh clues.
Anyone who has information that might help police should call them on 101