The murder of a teenager as she walked home from a night out rocked the nation in 1992 when it emerged her killer was a 12-year-old girl named Sharon Carr.
Hairdresser Katie Rackliff, 18, was stabbed by Carr more than 30 times in a cruelly random attack as she headed home from a nightclub in Camberley, Surrey, on a summer’s evening in June 1992.
Her horrific murder remained unsolved for two years until evil Carr struck again – this time boasting about Katie’s death while doing time at a young offender’s institution.
Yesterday it was revealed that the evil killer who stabbed stranger to death aged just 12 could be FREED in days.
So who was Katie Rackliff’s killer? And was there anything in her past to suggest she would go on to commit such heinous crimes?
Carr was born in 1979 in Belize, Central America – thousands of miles away from where her family eventually settled in 1986, Camberley
Sharon Carr’s upbringing: From central America to Surrey
Sharon Carr was born in 1979 in Belize, central America, thousands of miles away from where her family eventually settled in 1986, Camberley.
As a child her family, which included three siblings from three different fathers faced extreme poverty and she never met her biological father – instead raised by her stepfather.
But her parents marriage crumbled as soon as her mother’s domestic abuse intensified, with her even pouring boiling fat over her husband, resulting in his hospitalisation.
Despite her turbulent family life, Carr’s teachers described her as polite and helpful, but noted that sociable young girl preferred the company of older boys, and a minor tendency to express aggression at times.
But this took a turn for a worse and the schoolgirl gradually became more and more misbehaved, disrespecting authority, causing disruption in class and begging for attention.
This had gotten so bad that her headteacher at Cordwalles Junior School resorted to reporting the troublemaker to social services in Camberley.
This resulted in the tween being put in foster care – but this only lasted one month, when she returned home to find her mother had a new partner.
Katie Rackliff murder
On June 7, Carr, dubbed the ‘Devil’s Daughter’, knifed 18-year-old Katie Rackliff 32 times in an unprovoked attack as the teenager walked home from a night out in June 1992.
The hairdresser’s murder went unsolved for five years as police officers hunted an adult man rather than the child because of its grotesque nature which saw her damage Katie’s genitals.
Carr took advantage of the vulnerable hairdressing apprentice as she was walking home in the early hours of the morning, returning from the now-shut Ragamuffins nightclub in Camberley.
Carr proceeded to stab Katie, a complete stranger, around 30 times, using a six and a half inch knife to tear into her ribs, heart, vagina and anus, before stealing some of her unsuspecting victim’s jewellery.
After Carr’s random acts of brutality, the wicked girl arranged for Katie’s body to driven to nearby Farnborough, Hampshire.
Carr proceeded to stab Katie, a complete stranger, a total of 32 times, using a six and a half inch knife to tear into her ribs, heart, vagina and anus, before stealing some of her unsuspecting victim’s jewellery
The savagery didn’t end there – Katie’s body was dumped next to the wall of cemetery after she was mauled by the 12-year-old.
The body was discovered a few hours later by a group of boys.
Despite the despicable nature of the wounds Carr inflicted on Katie, police concluded no clear signs of any sexual assault, even though police initially assumed the suspect was an older male.
Because of this, Katie’s killer was not to be found until five years later. The cold case was finally solved in June 1994, when Carr struck again, exactly two years after murdering the teenager.
No clear motive was ever established.
Carr proceeded to stab Katie, a complete stranger, around 30 times, using a six and a half inch knife to tear into her ribs, heart, vagina and anus, before stealing some of her unsuspecting victim’s jewellery
Further attacks
On June 7, 1994, Carr, stabbed a 13-year-old pupil at Collingwood College Comprehensive School, which she also attended.
The attack took place in the toilets and saw the cunning killer hurt her victim’s back so severely that her lung became punctured.
She narrowly escaped death as five other students entered the toilets and got involved.
Her victim recalled that Carr looked ‘elated’ while attacking her.
Carr was then arrested, and admitted a series of strange attacks to police officers, including how she enjoys stabbing cats and that she has decapitated a dog.
On June 7, 1994, Carr, stabbed a 13-year-old pupil at Collingwood College Comprehensive School, which she also attended
Shortly after this, Carr was sent to see medical professionals, two of which she tried to strangle – leading to a conviction in December 1994.
She was detained in several psychiatric units but couldn’t help attacking the other women held there, forcing authorities to transfer her to an all-boys unit in County Durham.
But this was not enough to tame the wicked killer so in September 1995, she was sent to a young offenders’ institution.
While in prison, she repeatedly bragged about the murder of Katie to her friends and family – through chilling diary entries.
This led to her eventually being convicted for Katie’s murder in 1997.
A diary entry with Carr reimagining the knife she used to kill her innocent victim, 18-year-old hairdressing apprentice Katie Rackliff
Shocking diary entries from the killer spoke of the thrill she got from harming people
Another read: ‘I enjoyed putting the blade up her, it made me feel powerful’
Chillingly on the night she murdered Katie, she bragged in her diary about the killing, stating: ‘I’m a killer. Killing is my business, and business is good’
Carr was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum jail term of 14 years.
Two years ago she lost her bid to relax her jail regime after she plotted to split open another inmate’s head and throw her down the stairs.
Notorious for being Britain’s youngest female killer, Carr is a restricted status prisoner because she is so high risk, even threatening prison staff and her inmates.
In September 2022, it was reported that her case would again go before a parole board.
She is currently imprisoned at HM Prison Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey but could be freed in days.
DailyMail
