Minggu, 27 Mei 2012

Battered over the head before her throat was slashed: Brutal murder of woman in stiletto heels found dumped in subway in Bracknell.

Battered over the head before her throat was slashed: Brutal murder of woman in stiletto heels found dumped in subway in Bracknell.

  • Eyewitnesses said her head had been severely battered from behind
  • Body found 'in the foetal position with her hands covering her face'
  • A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder

By Emily Allen

PUBLISHED: 06:28 EST, 27 May 2012 | UPDATED: 11:16 EST, 27 May 2012


A murder investigation is underway today after the body of a young woman who had had her throat slit was found in a pedestrian underpass.

The victim, aged 43, was discovered by two men walking through the subway beneath a dual carriageway in Bracknell, Berkshire, at 8am.

Eye-witnesses said that her head had been severely battered from behind. 

Tonight police arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of murder

Police investigation into the discovery of a woman's body

A major murder hunt was launched today after the body of a young woman who had had her throat slit was found in a pedestrian underpass. A police cordon has been in place all day while investigations continue

Murder probe: Police officers cordon off the scene after the body of a woman aged in her 20s was discovered in an underpass

Police officers cordon off the scene in Bracknell, Berkshire, today. The woman was lying 'in the foetal position' on the ground with her hands covering her face

The body was discovered near Bay Drive in the Bullbrook district of the town by two men about 8am this morning.

Within minutes a huge team of police and forensic workers cordoned off all roads leading to the underpass which is part of a network of paths.

The men said the woman was lying 'in the foetal position' on the ground with her hands covering her face and had been wearing a small black dress and black stiletto heeled shoes.

It was not known how long the girl had been lying dead on the pathway although sources said it was believed she had been attacked while walking home through the underpass after a night out in the town.

Undertakers carry the murdered girl's body on a stretcher from the underpass today. The body was placed in a red body bag and taken to a hospital mortuary

Undertakers carry the murdered girl's body on a stretcher from the underpass today. The body was placed in a red body bag and taken to a hospital mortuary

Police seal off the area near the London Road roundabout. Eye-witnesses said that her head had been severely battered from behind

Police seal off the area near the London Road roundabout. Eye-witnesses said that her head had been severely battered from behind and she was found covered in blood

Brothers Lee and Glenn Paul-Ferris were loading up their van for work as gardeners when they were alerted to the body by a man on a bike.

They went to investigate and found the young woman in a pool of her own blood.

Lee, 26, said: 'She was wearing a black leather jacket, black dress and black knee high boots.'I was a bit shaken after seeing that. She was covering her face laying flat in the foetal position.

A fleet of more than a dozen police cars, along with forensic science vans arrived at the scene within minutes and a murder hunt was launched

A police cordon is in place at the underpass here. A fleet of more than a dozen police cars, along with forensic science vans arrived at the scene within minutes at 8am

'There was a lot of blood on the floor around her and on the wall about 18 inches up. She had definitely been attacked, the way she was laying and the amount of blood there was.

'Her hair was matted and all in her face. We use that underpass almost every day to go into town and coming back from a night out.'

Neighbours close to where the body was discovered said the underpass links a bus stop on one side of the dual carriageway to an estate on the other.

A woman who lives close to the underpass entrance said she had been told by one of the men that the girl had been 'dolled up' and was wearing a black dress with black stilettos.

Probe: This is the underpass where the young woman was discovered dead by walkers at 8am today. Police have cordoned off the scene

Probe: This is the underpass where the young woman was discovered dead by walkers at 8am today. Police have cordoned off the scene

She said: 'She had obviously been on a night out or to a party. She was found laying on her side in a foetal position with her hands in front of her face.

'They said she was in a pool of blood and had a wound to the neck. It's shocking that something like that could happen here.

'It's normally very quiet that alleyway and never used at night. If you lived around here you would know not to use the underpass at night.

'Nobody knows who she is or what she was doing there.'

Examination: Forensic officers work on the scene after the woman was discovered dead near the centre of Bracknell

Examination: Forensic officers work on the scene after the woman was discovered dead near the centre of Bracknell

Detectives were knocking doors on the neighbouring estate to build up a picture of what happened.

Officers also questioned guests staying at the nearby Travelodge hotel, which was inside the police cordon.

'She was an auburn-haired girl but the men who found her, who lived locally, did not know who she was,' said one woman who lives near the scene.

Probe: The woman's body was left at the scene by paramedics who were alerted by police as soon as the 999 call reporting the body discovery was made

Probe: The woman's body was left at the scene by paramedics who were alerted by police as soon as the 999 call reporting the body discovery was made

'It is a terrible shock that this has happened. The area is quite residential but the underpasses are known to be quite dodgy. No woman should walk alone through there at night,' said the woman who asked not to be named.

Another woman revealed that only a month ago a man had been stabbed and seriously injured in a knife attack on a path leading to the same underpass.

Police cars blocked off all roads for almost a mile around the murder scene and a cordon was set up as the forensic team continued to search for clues.

'From the way she was found, lying in the foetal position with her hand covering her face, it looks as if she was trying to shield herself from the weapon which was used to kill her,' said a friend of one of the men who found her.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that detectives were treating the death as suspicious and that an incident room had been set up.

It was understood that officers from the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Team were leading the investigation into the murder.

Superintendent Paul Hales said: 'The woman's body was found in an underpass near Bay Drive and we would urge anyone who may have used that path or who may have seen anything suspicious during the night to get in contact with us urgently.'

He added that if people preferred they could pass details anonymously to Crimestoppers either by phone or online.

A spokesman for the South Central Ambulance Service sa id that a fast response paramedic on a motorcycle was sent to the scene along with a double manned ambulance.

'There was nothing that could be done for the patient and we left the body at the scene,' said spokesman James Keating-Wilkes.

'We have no details about the woman or her injuries as there was nothing our paramedics could do,' he added.

A Home Office pathologist was sent to the scene and was expected to examine the victim's body in the underpass before she was removed to a mortuary for a full scale post mortem examination to be carried out to establish the exact cause of her death.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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Bless her :(

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Heartbreaking.

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Lets hope they catch this animal and soon. That poor girl. Rip.

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Bracknell is an architectural disaster, the town is inside out with a plethora of rut run, under passes and danger zones. It should be pulled down and re-built. So sad that this young lady has died in such awful circumstances.

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Believed to have been wearing a small black dress and black stiletto heels Why is what she was wearing even remotely relevant? Seriously . . . - Ron Graves, Birkenhead, UK, 27/5/2012 13:49 Umm... perhaps because a description of hair, clothing etc. might give some clues towards the identification of the unfortunate young lady? Presumably the police would be interested in speaking to anyone who recalls seeing a woman of this description in the area last night? I hope they find her killer(s) very soon, poor lass. :-( - Susan D, Glasgow, UK., 27/5/2012 8:38 The description does sound sort of "blame the victim for what she was wearing" until you read the part about her head being bashed in from behind. My guess is there isn't much of a description to give of her face so they're hoping people will recognize her from what she was wearing. Poor girl - that she was curled up in fetal position suggests she was aware and terrified.

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What she was wearing should be irrelevant. - Rach, Shetland, 27/5/2012 13:15---------------Not really, I know it's a long shot but someone reading this article may have seen her earlier and this description might just jog their memory. That's why newspapers do it.

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There are no CCTV cameras in that underpass or any others in Bracknell. I too have been assaulted in one of the underpasses in the daytime and Thames Valley police were useless, so I hope this poor girls murder investigation isn't left to them alone. The council need to spend some of the council tax on things that actually matter, such as CCTV instead of pointless things they currently waste money on.

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Is their no law and order in this rotten socialist country,?? jon cheam.

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The council should explain why there are no safer alternatives for pedestrians to using these awful underpasses. People know the underpasses are not safe (and are frankly scary to walk through), but nothing has been done about them over the years. Instead all the discussion is about building more new houses on green sites. Most people would choose to drive around Bracknell or get a taxi, but it's mostly the poor, the young, and the elderly who are stuck having to use these things. Public transport in the town is awful - most buses stop running around 5pm - so sadly at night it's either a car or walk home.

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I have lived in Bracknell for 40 years. It is a safe cohesive society, noted for its lack of graffiti its generally courteous well behaved young people. The corner illustrated is not so much threatening, as a place where few would need to be on foot, so devoid of pedestrians a bit bleak. hmmmm of Surrey is very wrong about Bracknell, it is probably the safest town within this distance of London. Most serious crimes in the area seem to be committed by residents of Reading, Slough London. Henley is very rough on Friday Saturday nights, a neighbour moved from there back to Bracknell to avoid repeated damage to her home car by drunken louts. This horrible crime is yet another example of our country's decline

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