The new evidence unearthed to reopen investigation into two murdered 11-year-olds found buried alive.

The new evidence which persuaded police to re-open their investigation into the murder of two 11-year-old boys in 1980 includes new witnesses and a potential new suspect.
Best friends John Greenwood and Gary Miller were beaten and buried alive on a rubbish tip in Whiston 36 years ago. The boys were found by a dog walker under a mattress on the site of a disused colliery on Pottery Lane which had been turned into a tip. They both died later in hospital and post mortems revealed they had suffered head injuries. Decades later, the investigation into the deaths has reopened after the Sunday Times unearthed new evidence and new witnesses. John Cheeseman from Prescott, was arrested and charged with the murder of both boys, but was then not found guilty following a trial in 1981 at Liverpool Crown Court.
A confession Mr Cheeseman made to detectives was criticised in the trail because there had been no guardian or lawyer present during the interview. The Sunday Times report a review in 2008 found forensic exhibits, including blood-stained clothing that had been lost or destroyed. The national newspaper also claims to have found a new witness in the case who said Mr Cheeseman turned up at her door on the night of the murders with "what looked like red paint" on his trousers. Another neighbour said three days before the killings Mr Cheeseman appeared at her door angry and distraught and said he would "get the family" back after John's father had complained about him playing on the street with the boys. Chessman denies the murders and the allegations that he had "red paint" on his trousers that night, reports The Sunday Times, The investigation has also claimed to have unearthed allegations of a potential new suspect. the paper reports that a Whiston resident told friends in 1999 she tried to commit suicide because she could no longer live with the guilt of her husband killing the two boys.