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Inspector Paul Robertson with a distinctive grey wallpaper print hooded top similar to the one worn by the murder victim

THE body of a woman found in a quiet north Hampshire village was stuffed in a suitcase and set on fire, murder detectives have revealed.

The victim was also wearing a distinctive watch with connections to a Basingstoke company.

Speaking at a press conference less than half a mile from the murder scene in Wayfarer's Way, Dummer, Detective Chief Inspector Gary O'Flaherty said: "We can now confirm that we think the woman was brought to the scene in a sizeable suitcase and set alight.

"Our enquiries so far show that she was dead when she arrived at Wayfarer's Way."

Det Chief Insp O'Flaherty said he still did not know the identity of the woman. However, it is believed she had light brown or blonde hair, was white, in her late teens to early 30s, about 5ft 6in, and of a slender build.

He also said that, due to the remote location of the site, whoever dumped the body must have used a vehicle. No details of vehicles seen in the area have yet been released by police.

Officers were alerted to the gruesome discovery after a dog walker found the charred body in an open Eagle-make suitcase just off Wayfarer's Way - a track popular with joggers and dog walkers - at about 6.30am last Thursday.

Det Chief Insp O'Flaherty also revealed that besides wearing a distinctive grey wallpaper print hooded top from New Look at the time of her death, the victim was also wearing a watch given to business customers or employees of Hama - a consumer electronics company based in Chineham Business Park, on the outskirts of Basingstoke.

The company's logo is on the face of the watch in silver.

Ben Jones, product manager at Hama - which employs about 25 people at the Chineham head office - told The Gazette the company has been co-operating in the murder hunt. But he said there was "nobody missing from the office".

He added: "The watches are used as giveaways for business customers, for people at trade shows or employees. They would have been given to many people so we were not able to help the police any further."

Det Chief Insp O'Flaherty said initial results from a post-mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist at Basingstoke hospital revealed that the victim had never borne children and was healthy at the time of her death.

He added: "Despite extensive enquiries, we still do not know who this woman is, and still need the public's help to identify her.

"She could be a local woman or from further afield, including overseas."

Detectives are also not discounting the theory that there may be more than one suspect.

Officers from the major crime department based in Grosvenor House, Basingstoke, have been checking all missing persons reports and speaking to other forces. They are awaiting the results of forensic tests in the hope of identifying the victim and determining an exact cause of death.

Inspector Paul Robertson, the newly-appointed rural inspector for Basingstoke, said the people of Dummer should not be alarmed.

"Dummer remains a very safe place to live and has a very low crime rate. This is an unusual thing to happen in a small rural location like this and we have additional officers patrolling for public reassurance."

More than 80 police staff are working on the murder investigation and are keen to hear from any dog-walkers, runners, poachers or ramblers who use the area regularly and who may have seen any suspicious activity.

It is the second time in less than 10 years that a body has been found in a suitcase in the Basingstoke area.

In December 2001, the dismembered body of 30-year-old Thero Siriwimala Patapiliyagoda was found in a suitcase dumped near Basingstoke train station.

Thero Nalaka Rathmalane, 35, was subsequently convicted of murdering the housekeeper at Audley's Wood hotel, before dumping the mutilated remains at the front of the station.

Anyone with any information about the Dummer murder should contact the Operation Fletcher investigation team on 0845 045 4545 or Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111.

5:39pm Monday 12th May 2008

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