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| Appeal over woman's petrol murder | Appeal over woman's petrol murder |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Detectives trying to find two men who killed a mother by setting her alight are renewing their appeal 15 years after her death. | Detectives trying to find two men who killed a mother by setting her alight are renewing their appeal 15 years after her death. |
| Tracy Mertens, 31, from Rochdale, was abducted in Birmingham and doused in petrol in a Cheshire churchyard on 23 December, 1994. She died hours later. | |
| The appeal will feature on BBC One's Crimewatch at 2100 GMT on Monday. | The appeal will feature on BBC One's Crimewatch at 2100 GMT on Monday. |
| Ms Mertens managed to tell officers how she was abducted in Nechells by two men searching for her partner Joey. | Ms Mertens managed to tell officers how she was abducted in Nechells by two men searching for her partner Joey. |
| Det Chf Insp Paul Bailey, of Cheshire Police, said: "Tracey's was a cruel and painful death. | Det Chf Insp Paul Bailey, of Cheshire Police, said: "Tracey's was a cruel and painful death. |
| "There are many unanswered questions and we are hoping that viewers of Crimewatch can provide us with some crucial answers as to why a loving mum, with no known enemies, should have her life taken from her in such a callous way." | "There are many unanswered questions and we are hoping that viewers of Crimewatch can provide us with some crucial answers as to why a loving mum, with no known enemies, should have her life taken from her in such a callous way." |
| Police released a photo of a car similar to the one used in the abduction | Police released a photo of a car similar to the one used in the abduction |
| Ms Mertens, who had two young children, had set off from her home in Rochdale on 22 December to collect belongings from her previous home in Nechells. | Ms Mertens, who had two young children, had set off from her home in Rochdale on 22 December to collect belongings from her previous home in Nechells. |
| Cheshire Police said she and partner Joey had moved from their Birmingham home five weeks earlier. | Cheshire Police said she and partner Joey had moved from their Birmingham home five weeks earlier. |
| The mother, who suffered 95% burns in the attack, told officers how she was blindfolded and bundled into a tatty yellow Ford Escort before being set alight. | The mother, who suffered 95% burns in the attack, told officers how she was blindfolded and bundled into a tatty yellow Ford Escort before being set alight. |
| She described her abductors as two black men, aged about 30, big and fat in build and with Birmingham accents. | She described her abductors as two black men, aged about 30, big and fat in build and with Birmingham accents. |
| Anyone with information about her murder should contact Cheshire Police. | Anyone with information about her murder should contact Cheshire Police. |