Who is Donald Robertson and where is he now?
MURDERER Donald Robertson managed to evade police for decades for a crime he committed in the 1980s.
While police did take him in for questioning in relation to the murder of Shani Warren, there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
Who is Donald Robertson?
Serial attacker, Donald Robertson, preyed on young women as they went about their daily routines.
He was arrested in connection to what was to be dubbed the “Lady in the Lake” murder but there was insufficient evidence for police to charge Robertson.
A Home Office pathologist, Dr Benjamin Davis, concluded at the time that Shani Warren had died by suicide as there were no marks on the body to indicate she had defended herself or of a sexual attack.
Despite the death being investigated as suspicious, there was no evidence for authorities to charge anyone for the girl’s death.
What happened to Shani Warren?
On April 17, 1987, Shani Warren headed to the shops after having just mown her lawn in Stoke Poges.
It was a trip that should have taken an hour or so but the 26-year-old was never to be return.
At some point on her journey, she encountered serial-rapist Donald Robertson.
Ms Warren’s car was found in a layby near the A4, with binbags found in the boot of the car full of grass cuttings.
An Easter egg was found in the footwell of the vehicle, one of the reasons for her trip on that fateful day.
Her body was found at the edge of Taplow Lake in Slough with wrists and ankles bound and her mouth gagged.
Shani Warren was discovered at the lake on April 18, 1987.
Due to the lack of evidence of a struggle or any sexual attack, it was concluded that she died by suicide.
Although her death was still regarded as suspicious, police were unable to find any clues that allowed them to progress their investigations further.
What other crimes did Donald Robertson commit?
Robertson was arrested in July 1981 after the rape of a 16-year-old near Farnham Lane in Slough.
When his victim failed to pick him out of a police line-up, he was released, but she was to tell police that she thought it was the person stood in his position but they felt there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
He was later arrested in connection to the murder dubbed the “Lady in the Lake” in 1987.
Such was the mindset of Donald Robertson, he wasted no time in continuing his depraved acts after being released by police.
Four days after this, the predator raped a 14-year-old girl who had been riding her bike in Farnham Royal.
A further attack took place just under two months after the murder of Shani Warren when a 17-year-old girl after she walked home along the A4 after missing her train.
The victim described being threatened with a knife or a gun and that she had feared for her life during the incident in June 1987.
Two decades later, he forced his way into a woman’s bed and breakfast room in Slough, threatening her to have sex with him.
On this occasion, she was able to escape before anything happened.
Where is Donald Robertson now?
He is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of the 17-year-old girl who missed her train near Taplow Lake.
Robertson was imprisoned for the crime in 2010, after Thames Valley Police major crime unit reviewed the case.
It was not until November 2020 that DNA evidence surfaced linking him to gag used on Shani Warren.
At the time of his arrest for Ms Warren’s murder, her family revealed how both of her parents had died during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They never got the closure of seeing the serial-attacker convicted for the murder of their daughter.