Girl found murdered after going missing from school
Brutal daylight knife attack
‘The tears just come in floods’
THE family of a murdered teenager said last night: ‘Our angel has been taken from us.’
Ellen Higginbottom, 18, was found dead with multiple neck wounds at a popular nature reserve.
Detectives are shocked by the brutality of the daylight attack and described the A-level student’s death as one of the worst murders in recent memory.
Ellen, a talented singer who dreamed of becoming a doctor, was killed after going missing from the sixth- form college where she was studying.
Last night police said they had arrested a 47-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
Ellen’s devastated grandfather, Derek Goldstraw, 80, said: ‘I can’t stop crying. The tears just come in floods. We’re all so heartbroken – our angel has been taken from us.
‘She was such a happy and beautiful girl who lit up our lives. Whoever’s done this is an animal. They need catching and locking up for life.’
Ellen’s parents, Kay and Mike Higginbottom, reported their only child missing at around 7.20pm on Friday after she failed to return to the family home in Worsley, Greater Manchester.
By then friends had already used social media to encourage anyone who might have seen the teenager to get in touch. Ellen was last seen leaving Winstanley College in Orrell, near Wigan, Lancashire, at 1pm.
But in the early hours of Saturday their worst fears were realised. Officers searching nearby Orrell Water Park discovered her body at around 2.30am in the corner of a field.
The country park is popular with fishermen, dog walkers and cyclists and is less than ten minutes’ walk from the college.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Ellen, who was in a band with her drummer boyfriend, Ryan Warren, 18, had died of multiple wounds to the neck. But detectives refused to confirm that the teenager had been knifed to death.
They said tests were being carried out to establish whether Ellen had been sexually assaulted. Yesterday officers were conducting house to house inquiries near the entrance to the park. An underwater search team was drafted in to hunt for a possible murder weapon.
Last night Mr and Mrs Higginbottom, both 48, were being comforted by police. Mrs Higginbottom is a headteacher, and her husband works as an IT consultant. Ellen’s grandfather, from Stoke- on-Trent, said: ‘I don’t know how her mum will be coming to terms with this as she was diagnosed with a brain tumour a few weeks ago.’
Mr Goldstraw added that Ellen was familiar with the water park because he used to take her for walks there when she was a little girl.
Ellen travelled the 20 miles from her home to Winstanley College by bus. It was named the best sixth-form college in Britain in February.
According to the college website, Ellen and Ryan were in an amateur band, called The Archives. They recently performed songs during lunchtime to more than 2,000 prospective students who visited the sixthform college for an open day.
Last night Ryan posted a message on Facebook, saying: ‘Thank you all for everyone’s kind messages. It really means a lot to us all. I’m sorry I haven’t responded to everyone as of yet but we are all still just processing and dealing with the tragedy in our own ways. Thank you.’
Friends left flowers, candles and tributes to the teenager outside the college and at the entrance to the park.
Police said the man they had arrested comes from the Billinge area, near Orrell.
Detective Superintendent Howard Millington, who is leading the inquiry, said police would leave ‘no stone unturned’ to find Ellen’s killer.
Police said they had made contact with two women who reported on Facebook having been followed by two men in the same park earlier in the week.