A schoolboy who was last seen when he left his home on his bike to fly a kite in September 1984 was unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.

The body of 15-year-old Mark Billington was found two months later hanging in a tree in woodland on the edge of Meriden, near Coventry, nearly seven miles (11km) from his home in South Yardley, Birmingham.

Police at the time treated the death as a suicide, but it became a murder inquiry in 2002. No-one has ever been charged.

Following senior coroner Louise Hunt's conclusion on Tuesday, Mark's family said: "We finally received some form of justice after 42 years of heartache".

A family statement following the two-day inquest said: "Our lovely mum Wynn died two years ago without ever knowing who killed her son. 


"She went to her grave, still searching for answers."

An open verdict was recorded by the original inquest held after Mark's death, but the High Court overturned that ruling in June.

At the end of new inquest Hunt told Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court she was "satisfied that Mark was murdered and there was no evidence that he took his own life".

"It remains an unsolved murder", she said.

Warning: This story contains distressing details

Delivering her conclusion, Hunt said she was satisfied the evidence provided showed the teenager went missing on 1 September 1984 and would have died at some point that day.

Addressing his family, Hunt displayed a picture of the smiling schoolboy as she described Mark as a "quiet" and "happy" boy who loved going to Butlins, his stamp collection and model railway kits.

The inquest heard he had a "keen interest in cooking, and cheesecake was a regular on the menu" and was looking ahead to his future by writing to caterers about employment opportunities once he left school.

His father and mother Royston and Winifred Billington, who adopted Mark as a baby in 1971, had no concerns about any mental health issues and said going missing was "completely out of character".

The court heard the boy's body was found on 11 November by four men who were ferreting in the woodland in Meriden.

It previously heard from consultant forensic pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer who said the rope found at the scene was "tied unusually" in an "elaborate arrangement" and it was unlikely that Mark would have been able to secure the knot himself.

Describing the last time he was seen, Hunt told the court Mark carried out his usual morning paper round, before he returned home where his parents last saw him sitting on their kitchen step before they left to go shopping at around 09:30.

He said goodbye to his grandfather and brother Russell Billington at about 11:00, before heading to The Rec, a park near their family home, with his bike and a blue kite with a crimson pink tail.

Witness sightings placed him in a number of locations near his neighbourhood that morning, including the Birmingham and Bridgewater Building Society on Church Road where he deposited his £8 wages.

A "comprehensive" missing persons investigation was launched when his parents called police after the newsagent where he worked alerted them he had not turned up for his evening shift at Allen's News.

That day, his jumper and building society passbook were found in the shed where his bike and kite were normally kept, the court heard. His kite was found in a hedge behind the family home two weeks later.

During the relaunched police investigation, three people were arrested but later released due to a lack of evidence.

The coroner's court heard West Midlands Police was satisfied Mark Billington was unlawfully killed.

Detectives continue to have a theory that Mark's death was linked to a bottle scam in which people took fizzy drink glass bottles to shops in exchange for a deposit, then stole them back to return again.

It is thought the teenager uncovered the involvement of one or more of the suspects and they "were trying to scare him".

The coroner told the court this remained West Midlands Police's main theory.

Hunt said Mark was "either a willing or duped victim or murdered".

She added that "it was extremely unlikely that he tied the knot" in the way he was found at the scene.

Due to the condition of his body it was not able to determine how he died and his medical cause of death was recorded as unascertained due to decomposition.

As the conclusion was delivered, Mark's family were tearful following their battle for answers.

"We're finally feeling like some justice has been found for our brother Mark," said his sister Cheryl Jeyes following the hearing.

"The trauma of living with this from childhood to now never goes away because that person is potentially still out there.

"I don't think we'll ever have closure as a family. It's been a long fight to try and just get to this verdict today and go some way in righting the wrongs of the past but it's not the end of the story."

Mark's brother, Philip Billington added: "We've been let down for 42 years. Maybe not the police of today, but the police of yesteryear. We are not happy with any of it.

"We are very grateful to the coroner Louise Hunt for all her help and support. We're very happy with the outcome of today, but there are still things to pursue and go forward with."

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said its "focus remains on justice for Mark", adding, "as with all unsolved crimes, we remain ready to follow up any new information or lines of inquiry".

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