A female football coach has been jailed for life for the murder of a teenager in 2004, which was unsolved until she walked into a police station and confessed. 

Karen Tunmore was jailed with a minimum term of 17 and a half years at Newcastle Crown Court for the murder of Scott Pritchard in Sunderland. 

The 36-year-old from Killingworth, North Tyneside, confessed in July to killing the teenager by smashing him over the head with a baseball bat during a row over money. 

Pritchard was found fatally injured outside his home in Hendon on 7 January 2004. He was rushed to Sunderland Royal Infirmary with serious head injuries where he later died. 

Pritchard’s father Robert Stacey, known as Fred, was charged with murdering his own son and spent 16 weeks on remand before the case against him was dropped in 2005.

In a Victim Personal Statement read out at Newcastle Crown Court, Stacey said people continued to shout abuse at him, even though he was cleared, and he was scared to walk around Sunderland city centre “for fear of being accused of a crime I did not commit”.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief inspector John Bent of Northumbria Police, said: “It is rare for a murder case to remain open for so long because suspects are normally identified at a very early stage.

“I am glad that Scott’s family may finally see some justice as it has been an incredibly difficult time for them since he passed away.

“To have your son murdered is tragic in itself but for his killer to remain in the community for such a long time is heart-breaking.

 “Hopefully they can take some comfort from knowing that Karen Tunmore has been brought to justice.”