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CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS VAN? |
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Police have announced what they call a "significant arrest" in the murder of French student Amelie Delagrange on Twickenham Green on 19 August 2005, and they have also extended a special thank you to the local people of Twickenham who have given the investigation overwhelming support. The arrest of a 36-year old man man living in West London is also linked to an earlier similar attack and robbery on a woman in Hampton Road, Twickenham, on 2 November 2002, which was not fatal.
"We want to recover the van, which we believe was used by the suspect on August 19," said Mr Murphy at a press conference held at New Scotland Yard on Monday 22 November. "It was certainly in his possession prior to August 19 and registered quite legitimately to Cargo Air Services in Stanwell, Heathrow. It may have been sold on and may be in the legitimate possession of a member of the public. We would ask for anybody who knows or is in possession or who has seen this white Ford Courier on the streets to contact the Incident Room or your local police station." Police revealed they had been searching seven addresses in the West London area near Heathrow, but added it would be inappropriate for them to enter into any detail or speculation. The arrested man is currently in custody, being questioned. "There is a suspect being interviewed, and inquiries are ongoing and may continue for some time," they said.
"The vehicle was last registered to Cargo Air Services and they were the legitimate owners of the vehicle. They sold it on and we are not sure where it is or in whose possession." The police said that for investigative purposes, they were continuing to link the murder of Amelie to that of Marsha McDonnell, an A-level student, who died following a similar attack near her home in Priory Road, Hampton, in early February 2003. Several other serious similar attacks have also been made on young women in the Twickenham, Hampton, Hanworth area. But the press conference was called to appeal for information about the van, and police came back time and time again to stress its importance. They added that a number of objects had also been recovered and were subject to further examination. "We need to find this vehicle," stressed Mr Murphy. "We think it was in the area at the time of Amelie's murder. It is a vehicle we need to trace." A recent further appeal to find witnesses, with CCTV images from local buses taken around the time of Amelie's murder, resulted in a number of people coming forward and police said they were still evaluating their statements. Said Mr Murphy: "I want to say thank you to the people of Twickenham, whose response has been fantastic, overwhelming. "Whilst it has been three months since Amelie's murder, I want to reassure local people that there is a tremendous amount of work still going on. Sometimes it isn't in the media because it is not necessarily suitable for publication, but we have made some significant inroads into the investigation. "We are still appealing for witnesses to come forward and there may well be people who were in and around Twickenham Green who have not yet contacted us because they think they haven't seen anything or they have nothing to add and we may have all the information we need. "It is not true. They may have a key piece of information." So far there have been four earlier arrests in relation to the murders and attacks, and those people are on bail and inquiries continue. Mr Baker said that it was significant that there were sufficient grounds to call the man they had now arrested a suspect. The number of the incident room is 020 8247 7911 Monday, November 22, 2004
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Detective
Chief Superintendent Andy Murphy and Commander Andy Baker want the
help of local people in tracing a white Ford Courier van, registration
number P610 XCN which was seen in the area for an hour to hour and
a half around the time of Amelie's murder.
