Ian Douglas Latter

Ian Douglas Latter was found stabbed by his taxi in a field near Southampton on the night of Sunday 28 December 1986.

A detective said that it had been a brutal attack and that his killer would have been heavily bloodstained. The police said that they thought that the motive had probably been robbery.

He had numerous stab wounds and lacerations to his face, neck and body.

He was found in an isolated 20-acre field alongside Shop Lane at Netley after a farmworker reported his bloodstained white-and-cream Peugeot taxi apparently abandoned. He was found about 200 yards away from his vehicle.

Police searched the field for clues.

It was thought that Ian Latter would have collected between £80 and £100 in fares during the night, but when the police found him he had only £15 on him.

Ian Latter had been divorced and had lived alone in Gordon Avenue, Southampton. He had been known in the taxi fraternity as Dougie and regularly worked a night shift and was said to have had no known enemies.

He had gone on duty on the Saturday evening and was last seen alive about 3.30am on the Sunday morning at a city centre taxi rank.

He had worked for City Cabs of Southampton and had picked up a fare from their office at 2am.

He had been due to pick up a 4.30am fare, but failed to arrive. He had also had another fare booked for 5.40am, which he also failed to turn up for.

The police appealed for drivers that had recently taken late night fares to the Netley area to come forward.

The police later said that they were trying to trace the women in his life. He had been known to have had two current girlfriends at the time he died and the police said that they were trying to locate any other women in his life.

It was also thought that he might have been lured to his death by a call on his Citizen's Band radio.