THE mother of a teenager who died in mysterious circumstances 18 years ago is hoping for “justice” as a police cold case team investigates fresh evidence.

Lizzie Gilmour, of St Stephen’s Road, in Acomb, York, who was 15 at the time, was found on a dark and isolated stretch of the city’s A1237 outer ring road near the Askham Lane junction, after being hit by a car in January 2000.

In the years since Lizzie’s death, her mother Rose Ozturkce, formerly Gilmour, has pressed North Yorkshire Police to reopen the case and investigate what happened.

Today, just two days from the anniversary of Lizzie's death, police have confirmed they are looking again at the case.

Rose said: “I feel much more positive that this will be the year that Lizzie gets justice, now the police are re-investigating. There is a good officer on the case.

“I know there has been more information received about what happened to Lizzie that night. We need people to come forward with anything they know, however small.

“Piecing together what happened is just like a jigsaw and the tiniest snippet of memory could be vital.

“I want people to look in their hearts, imagine it was their child. They don’t need to be frightened of coming forward; they can remain anonymous.”

Rose, 63, said question marks remain over why and how Lizzie got to the area at the time and she is convinced Lizzie, a talented singer, was taken there by an unknown person.

“She would never have walked a mile in the dark, alone. And she would never have taken her own life. She was a beautiful, happy, bubbly, jolly girl. Her loss doesn’t get any easier, even after all these years. We must know what happened to Lizzie. She deserves justice.”

Lizzie left home at about 6.30pm on January 15, 2000, and was later seen at Acomb Green where she was very distressed and crying in the back of a car, her mother said.

Lizzie was the youngest of five children. Rose said Lizzie’s father, David, and her brothers and sister, Peter, Carl, Paul and Victoria, all need to know what happened to her.

“It feels like yesterday to us," she said. "Lizzie was destined to be a singer. She was musically talented; had performed at the Theatre Royal and the Joseph Rowntree Theatre and auditioned for TV. She also wrote poems that I have put in a book. She had her life ahead of her and was a marvellous girl.

“It has been a long time, but it only feels like yesterday to me. To lose such a beautiful daughter, sister, friend and niece feels surreal and part of that is that we still have not got justice for Lizzie.

“This will never, never go away. We will always fight to discover the truth.”

Lizzie was hit by an Audi car as she lay in the road at 8.20pm. Police said the car driver was not at fault.

An open verdict was recorded by York coroner Donald Coverdale, who said he could not believe the “sensible and level-headed” Lowfield School pupil intended to take her own life, or had lain in the road to make “a grand gesture” after falling out with her boyfriend.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Since Lizzie’s death, we have pursued many lines of enquiry and have revisited the investigation on various occasions to see if any new light can be shed on it.

“As with other unresolved cases, North Yorkshire Police is looking into whether it can gather any further information about Lizzie’s case.”

Members of the public who have any information that they have not yet shared with investigators should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. You can also contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Julie Hughes, or email Julie.hughes@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.