Kevin Nunes: Family reveal how Express & Star gave them 'strength'

The Express & Star has been investigating the case since 2014, publishing a series of exposés that shed new light on the long-running saga.

Notably the newspaper won a landmark year-long Freedom of Information battle with Staffordshire Police to get the damning internal police dossier at the centre of the scandal made public.

It came after a successful appeal to the Information Commissioner.

And this year we also revealed how a murderer was among two men paid £200,000 damages by the force over the fiasco.

Pressure from the E&S also forced the police watchdog to publish its 587-page Operation Kalmia report into the affair – after nearly three years.

Leanne Williams, who was Kevin's girlfriend when he was murdered, said: "The last four years have been fantastic. The Express & Star has wanted to know how the family feels, how it has affected us. They have shown more interest than the police and IPCC together.

"I am grateful because it has opened up a lot of doors. We really appreciate it.

"We felt like our cause was disappearing, and that in the eyes of the police and the IPCC nobody cared. I definitely believe the Express & Star helped that massively. I totally believe the Express & Star's input put a fire under it and made the authorities stand up and listen, and forced them into action.

"I'm glad somebody held onto it regardless, and I appreciate it massively, I really do."

Her brother Benjamin said: "Without the Express & Star we would not have got this far. We would not be here where we are today. We left it to the powers that be, but the only people who wanted to help us was the Express & Star. I am grateful for the work they have done and they have given the family strength and belief that there are people out there that care.

"The Express & Star, the local paper for the local people, has been a fantastic help and we are really grateful."