SHE has lay in an unmarked grave in Bromsgrove cemetery for nearly 60 years, the tragic victim of a savage, unsolved murder that rocked Bromsgrove at the time.

Now, an America author, Elizabeth Ashley Ruffin, who is on an extended stay in Britain and who reckons she may be a distant relative, hopes to set up a trust fund to put that right by erecting a headstone in her memory.

Elizabeth, married to an Englishman, is also anxious to find out more about the murder which may form the basis of a future book.

On the morning of Friday, October 27, 1944, the partly clothed body of attractive 33-year-old Miss Florrie Porter, a time office clerk at the Austin works was found lying in a pool of blood under a verandah at Lickey End School, by schoolboy Albert Egan.

The spot was just yards from her family home in Little Heath Lane.

She had been stabbed seven times in the chest and neck.

Florrie was last seen late the previous night in School Lane accompanied by an America officer. The couple had been seen earlier in the George Hotel in Bromsgrove town centre.

Exhaustive inquiries failed to find her killer.

However, the late Bromsgrove auctioneer and land agent Tim Brotherton, who had the ear of many influential townsfolk, always maintained police knew the killer was a GI but that he was spirited away before they could swoop.

Elizabeth, who lives in Kidderminster, first came across an account of the murder in a local history book and was immediately captivated by the story.

"My father's grandmother was a Porter, so my interest was immediately tweaked," she said.

Months of painstaking research and interviews, some with Florrie's relatives has resulted in her amassing a thick file of material.

However, she is still anxious to find out more and hopes Advertiser/Messenger readers can help.

"I would like to hear from anyone who has a photo or knew her or has any memories about her," said Elizabeth.

"It's very sad she has had no memorial to her all this time while her murderer went free."

Elizabeth can be contacted on 01562 862897 or email her at dekbeth@aol.com