DNA evidence led to a man being charged with the rape and murder of a schoolgirl 40 years ago, a court heard.

The trial of Stephen Anthony Hough, 58, of Maes Y Dre in Flint, who is accused of raping and killing 15-year-old Janet Commins between January 7 and January 11, 1976 began on Tuesday.

Appearing before Mr Justice Clive Lewis, he is charged with murder, rape, sexual assault and an alternative charge of manslaughter. He denies the charges.

Mold Crown Court heard Hough was interviewed at the time of Janet’s death, but said he was in his car masturbating and had been syphoning fuel from a car.

Janet Commins

He was one of many people, aged 17 to 22 and living in the area, who were interviewed at the time.

Opening the prosecution case, barrister Mark Heywood QC said Hough was arrested in 2016 following a DNA sample being given for an unrelated matter.

He said: “A review was instigated into the scientific evidence in 2006, where samples were re-examined for the purpose of instigating a DNA profile.

“The profile of a male was identified and a new profile entered on the database.

“In 2016, police had occasion to take a sample of DNA which meant his sample was available to enter on to the computer and a match was identified.”

When interviewed by police, Hough, who was living on Maes Y Dre in Flint at the time of Janet’s death, said his dad had purchased a car for him from the scrapyard for him to “do up”.

He had permission to keep it in a bus depot where his father worked.

Mr Heywood said the depot was where the alleged syphoning of petrol took place, and referred police to his account in 1976 for his whereabouts on the day.

“He said sometimes if he was not working on the car, he would go there for some peace and quiet.

“It took a while for him to tell the police what he was doing because admitting he’d been masturbating in the car didn’t come very easily to say.”

Hough, who was 17 when Janet died, said he did not know Janet Commins.

The court heard Noel Jones had already been sentenced to 12 years in prison for Janet’s manslaughter but maintained he was innocent of the charge.

Mr Heywood said: “There’s support that he wasn’t Janet’s killer and that in all circumstances we can be sure that Stephen was.”

During the original investigation, it emerged that Noel Jones had told his girlfriend he had killed a young girl, the jury heard.

Jones admitted raping and strangling Janet and was jailed for 12.

Mr Heywood added: "Mr Jones was later released and went about re-establishing his life.

“He never challenged the conviction but he says he always knew he was innocent and only confessed down to the pressure he felt placed upon him at the time.”

The court heard Janet was found dead on January 11, 1976 by three girls who were playing hide and seek on playing fields near Gwynedd School.

Janet lived close by, the court heard.

Investigations found she had died from the “neck and external airway being compressed and blocked during that sexual assault”.

She was the only child to Eileen and Edward, and had lived on King Edward Drive in Flint.

On the night of her disappearance on January 7, she left a note at home after sneaking out to go to the local swimming baths with her best friend Julie Davies.

Just after 7.30pm she saw her friend and the girls spoke about returning the next day.

Janet left saying she was going to go home and a witness recalled seeing her speaking with two boys.

Just after 8.15pm, she called at a friends house to see if she was playing out, but was told she was not.

It was not until just after 9pm her mum began to look for Janet after becoming worried – with the police being informed she was missing at around 11pm.

After her body was found, investigations concluded there was evidence her body had been left face down before being moved to the location it was found.

The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks.

Proceeding.