Murder of Rachel McLean

Rachel McLean
BornAugust 1971
Blackpool, England
Died14 April 1991 (aged 19)
Oxford, England
Cause of deathMurder by strangulation
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Oxford
Blackpool Sixth Form College
OccupationStudent
Parent(s)Malcolm and Joan McLean
RelativesDavid McLean (brother);
Peter McLean (brother)

Rachel Margaret McLean (1971–1991) was a British student at St. Hilda's College in Oxford, England, when she was murdered by her boyfriend, John Tanner, a day after she had refused his marriage proposal. In the aftermath, Tanner concocted ruses in an attempt to allay suspicion, and elaborated a series of lies in an attempt to confuse the crime investigation and outwit the police.

McLean, who was born in the English town of Blackpool and raised in nearby Carleton, was a second-year student studying English Language at St. Hilda's when Tanner, a 22-year-old British-born New Zealand national, strangled her on 14 April 1991 and hid her body under the floorboards of her house.