Skip to main contentAccess keys help

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
Last Updated: Saturday, 26 April, 2003, 12:16 GMT 13:16 UK
Drivers 'may have seen killer'
Jane Longhurst
Jane Longhurst went missing in March
Police investigating the murder of teacher Jane Longhurst believe motorists may have seen her killer disposing of the body.

Sussex Police will be stopping drivers around the woods near Pulborough, West Sussex, where Miss Longhurst's burning body was found one week ago.

They believe the body could have been dumped within an hour of it being discovered at 2035 BST on 19 April.

Miss Longhurst, 31 disappeared from her home in Brighton six weeks ago.

A 35-year-old man, who had been questioned in connection with the murder, was released on police bail without charge on Friday night.

Somebody may have seen somebody carrying something heavy
Sussex Police spokesman

More calls about the murder were made to police on Friday and forensic experts are continuing to search a flat in Hove, Sussex.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "There's still lots of work to be done, a lot of forensic work, a lot of inquiry work.

Officers are optimistic checks of motorists near the site where she was found will find more witnesses.

The spokesman said: "What is perhaps slightly unusual is, because the body was found on fire, there is actually quite a tight timescale when we think Jane was left there.

"That gives us a specific focus this evening, on this one week anniversary."

He added that there may have been motorists who used the A283 on Saturdays to visit relatives.

Woods near Pulborough in West Sussex
Police will return to where Ms Longhurst's body was found
"Somebody may have seen somebody carrying something heavy.

"It's often with hindsight people realise what they have seen was significant."

Police are still appealing for anyone who was on the common that day to come forward and particularly want to speak to the driver of a dark brown or green Ford Focus parked nearby.

Miss Longhurst, who was originally from Reading, went missing on 14 March from the home she shared with her partner Malcolm Sentance in Brighton.

Detectives believe she was strangled shortly after her disappearance and her body kept somewhere cool for up to five weeks.

They suggested her killer panicked over the Easter weekend by deciding to dump and set light to her body in an area visible from footpaths and roads.

On Wednesday, police said items found near to where the body was discovered, including a match, a box of matches and Jane's watch, had given them a significant breakthrough.




WATCH AND LISTEN
The BBC's Clarence Mitchell
"The police remain confident"



SEE ALSO:
Man bailed over teacher murder
25 Apr 03  |  England
Teacher murder spot cleared
24 Apr 03  |  England
Police 'one step behind' killer
23 Apr 03  |  England
Teacher murder prompts 50 calls
22 Apr 03  |  Southern Counties
Teacher's killer 'panicked'
21 Apr 03  |  Southern Counties
Vanished teacher baffled police
21 Apr 03  |  England
Reward for missing teacher info
10 Apr 03  |  England


RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia
UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health
Have Your Say | In Pictures | Week at a Glance | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
AmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific