‘Crash faked to cover up girl’s murder’
2 arrests as police probe mystery
A GIRL who was found dead in a crashed car was not killed in the collision, detectives believe.
There are suspicions the smash was a deliberate act – to make it appear it is how 16-year-old Megan Bannister died.
Two men are being questioned on suspicion of her murder.
She was discovered in a Vauxhall Astra after it collided with a motorbike.
Her parents Tony and Carol and six siblings said in a tribute: “Megan was our beautiful, talented, loving daughter and sister, and our hearts have been utterly broken by her death.
“The thought of life without Megan is impossible to imagine.
“We cannot adequately express in words the sense of numbness and overwhelming grief we feel at her loss.
“She was bright, clever, and a responsible person who loved her family and her many friends. She had a strong self- will and had set her heart on training to become a midwife.
“Knowing how confident and determined she was, we have no doubt she would have realised that dream.”
Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash in Enderby, Leics, on Sunday lunchtime.
Megan’s body was found on the back seat of the black car. The men were arrested on suspicion of murder after it emerged her injuries were “not consistent” with the collision.
The motorbike rider suffered serious injuries. His passenger was also hurt.
Police yesterday searched two homes in the Leicester area.
It is understood the properties are where the arrested men live. Megan was due to sit her first GCSE exam yesterday.
In one of her final tweets she talked of her dismay, saying in March: “Another person to take me for a mug.”
Her friend Olivia Grace tweeted yesterday: “Absolutely broken, I will miss you so much gorgeous.”
Megan, from Leicester, had a twin brother Mason, who said on Facebook: “Goodbye to my twin.”
A statement from Wigston College, Leics, where Megan was a pupil, said: “The whole college community has been devastated by the news of Megan’s death... She was popular and had a wide range of friends.”
Officers refused to comment on the possibility the crash was deliberate.
Leics police say a postmortem was inconclusive and further tests are being done. A spokeswoman said: “All lines of inquiry are open and being investigated.”