Sharon Crossthwaite was the daughter of Beryl and Ronnie Crossthwaite in 1955. During the sheepdog trials in 1973, she was followed by Jim Latimer who tried to attack her but was stopped by a homeless man, Ian "Trash" McIntyre, a friend of Jack Sugden. Jack let Trash stay with him but the police treated Trash as a suspect in Sharon's disappearance as he had some of her belongings. Trash later fell to his death out of a window at Mill Cottage and Sharon's body is discovered shortly afterwards. Jim was later arrested and charged with Sharon's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sharon was the programme's first murder victim.