A police force has told the mother of a murdered seven-year-old schoolgirl they are no longer investigating her death just as the officer in charge of the case has announced she has taken up a role in a reality TV show.
Assistant Chief Constable Lisa Theaker was the officer in charge of the investigation into the 1992 murder of Nikki Allan in Sunderland while a senior detective with Northumbria Police.
She moved to Cleveland Police in 2019, but still maintained control of the high-profile and decades long murder hunt.
However, Ms Theaker has caused controversy by becoming the first serving police officer to accept a key part in Channel 4’s Hunted series, where she will form part of a team tracking down celebrity 'fugitives' for entertainment. All previous series of the show have featured retired detectives.
Her appearance comes as the force is trying to improve its reputation following a series of scandals and a damning inspection in 2019.
Nikki's mother, Sharon Henderson, was horrified to receive a call from police asking whether she was aware of Ms Theaker's television appointment, before being hit with another blow with news that her daughter's case was being dropped by her team.
Ms Henderson said she was 'devastated' at the way she was told and accused the force of caring more about its reputation than investigating the death of her daughter.
She added: 'To receive that news would have been terrible at any time, but to get it in such an insensitive way has left me devastated.
Nikki Allan (left) was found stabbed to death in a derelict Sunderland building in 1992. Her killer has never been found, despite tireless campaigning by her mother Sharon (right)
Lisa Theaker is the first serving officer to lead the team of investigators on Channel 4 's hit programme Hunted, in which contestants try to evade capture for several days
The family of Nikki are pictured during the funeral of the youngster in 1992. Her body was found in the derelict Exchange building a few hundred yards away from her home
'I was shaking all over, sobbing and had to sit down on the bed to compose myself. The first thing my liaison asked was whether I’d heard about Lisa Theaker appearing on TV, they seemed concerned that it’s brought some negative publicity.
'It was only then that they broke the news that they had dropped Nikki’s case. They had "reached the end of the line" as she put it. They seemed more concerned about the force’s reputation over this stupid TV show than dropping Nikki’s case.
'If Lisa
