Eleven remain in custody in missing man murder probe

Eleven people remain in police custody over an investigation into the murder of man who has not been seen for almost two years.

On Tuesday, Leicestershire Police arrested eight men and three women, on suspicion of murder, and a ninth man on suspicion of assisting an offender, while searches took place at a house in Broad Avenue in Evington.

The force said the arrests followed a "lengthy investigation" into the disappearance of a man in his 60s, who was last seen in April 2024.

One of the murder suspects - a 23-year-old woman - has been released with no further action, police said, while the 11 others remain in custody.

The eight men arrested on suspicion of murder are 61, 43, 34, 33, 23, 21 and two aged 25.

The ninth man, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, is 50.

The two women, who were arrested on suspicion of murder and are still in custody, are 34 and 29.

Warrants were also executed at two other addresses in Falmouth Road and Gwendolen Road, both in Evington, police said.

Searches have concluded at these properties.

Police said there had been "no proof of life" of the man since April 2024.

"We received some information in June 2024 about concerns over his whereabouts and this was followed up by officers," a spokesperson said.

"Further information then came to us, which lead to a review of previous reports to us."

Partner agencies are also assisting at the Broad Avenue scene to make the property safe to allow a full search to be carried out, officers said.

Senior investigating officer, Det Insp Michael Chandler, from the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit, said: "Since carrying out the warrants yesterday morning there has been significant progress in this investigation, including clearing the areas of the property that we need access to and making them safe to allow a comprehensive search to be carried out.

"There's still a lot of work to be done and detectives and crime scene investigators are at the scene and will be over the coming weeks, ensuring a thorough investigation and evidence gathering."

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