Monday, December 11, 2006

Body in river was clothed...

Police say the body discovered in the River Welland over the weekend was found clothed - unlike the three women found murdered in Suffolk.

While police have not ruled out the possibility of a link to the murders of three prostitutes in Ipswich, Suffolk, it is thought most unlikely that there is a connection.

The woman found in the Welland between Deeping St James and Crowland on Saturday has still not been identified and police won't yet say how she died. They have confirmed that she is of white European appearance.

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph say she is believed to be in her 30s and BBC Radio Lincolnshire says she is said to be "at least 30".

Det Supt Roger Bannister told the BBC that the result of the post-mortem examination and the woman's injuries "lead me to think that the death is suspicious".

It is understood that no form of identification was found on the body, although some possessions have been recovered.

The ET reports that police are looking at a possible link between the murder and the discovery of a burned out car nearby on the banks of the river.

It is possible the was already dead before being transported to the river by vehicle. A sexual motive for the crime has not been ruled out.

Police divers have made a search of the river and recovered a nunber of items including a firearm, although police are not linking it to the investigation.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad the woman's body found was clothed(at least a modicum of dignity prevailed)and hopefully it means that the death is not associated with the apparent serial killings in Suffolk. The thought of a serial killer who apparently leaves no DNA being loose in the County is frightening. I shall try and keep abreast of the investigation and hopefully the Lincolnshire police will advise as soon as possible that there is no definite link with the Suffolk murders?

At the same time any murder is shocking. I hope the victim is identified soon and the culprit arrested.

Anonymous said...

A man in his fifties has been arrested.

Drily I have to observe that it is hard to kill someone (or do anything else) around the Peterborough area without it being somewhere near a burnt-out car.

fairdealphil said...

liz:

i'm no expert but i'm led to believe that a clothed body usually suggests the killer is related to the victim.

Anonymous said...

A difficult one Phil and you are probably right. As a woman I always feel (cannot support) the perpetrators need for degradation and control and in the case of these poor women a moral crusade of some sort. I was reading recently that the new Crime Channel (now with us) and the CSI programme has certainly effected some criminals in America. They are all more knowledgeable about Forensic Science and apparently have a higher degree of control over the crime scene leading to less evidence to support convictions. It looks like the person responsible for the Suffolk murders is showing similar characteristics. - he certainly appears very organised and there does seem at this stage to be few clues.

I am optimistic that the murders may be resolved as the Suffolk Police are receiving support from other police forces. I also read today that an experienced senior officer from the Met's murder Squad is assisting.

A case for amalgamation of small police forces?