THE murder of a North-East woman who was butchered and eaten by a cannibal killer will be featured in a television documentary.

September Films will be in the region from today filming footage about the death of Julie Paterson in Darlington in 1998, and the devastation it left in its wake.

This autumn, Five TV plans to repeat the documentary about cannibal killer David Harker, titled The British Cannibal, which was originally shown in 2000.

The show's producers are returning to County Durham to update the documentary to include information about the suicide of Ms Paterson's boyfriend, Alan Taylor.

Taylor was convicted earlier this year of murdering friend John Morrison by strangling him with a belt.

After he was arrested, he told police that he wanted to be jailed so he could get to Harker and exact his revenge for the murder of his girlfriend.

During his trial at Teesside Crown Court, it was argued that the murder of Ms Paterson had left Taylor tormented and unstable, throwing him into bouts of depression and leading him to rely heavily on alcohol.

He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 45-year-old Mr Morrison, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

However, the jury rejected his claims of post-traumatic stress disorder and reached a unanimous verdict of murder.

The 41-year-old alcoholic, who lived in Tom Raine Court, Darlington, and who was more than five times the drink-drive limit when he strangled Mr Morrison, was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years in prison.

However, three months later, he took his life in Holme House Prison, near Stockton.

Reporter Randeep Sandhu said she would interview Durham Police Chief Superintendent David Jones, who led the investigation into Ms Paterson's death, along with Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin, who led the John Morrison murder inquiry.

The Northern Echo, which covered both murders in full, will also be interviewed for the film.

Ms Sandhu said: "The new programme will include the related events that have occurred over the last seven years.

"We are planning to interview a number of contributors, including two senior police officers."

In 1999, Harker, then 24, was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in jail for the mother-of-four's murder.

He is understood to have never shown any remorse for her killing, and has yet to reveal where he disposed of her missing limbs.

Chief Supt Jones is hoping to visit Harker in prison in the next few months to re- interview him.

He said he wanted to bring closure for Ms Paterson's family before he retires at the end of the year