Leicester Mercury

Murder police bid to find driver

CAR SEEN IN AREA TWO DAYS BEFORE BODY FOUND

- By ADRIAN TROUGHTON adrian.troughton@reachplc.com @adriantrou­ghton

MURDER detectives are trying to trace a driver who might have spoken to a woman two days before she was found dead at a house in Leicester.

The man was driving a light-coloured, possibly silver, car which was seen parked in Gedge Way, on the Saffron Lane estate, at about 8.20pm on Sunday. Police have released a CCTV image of the vehicle.

Officers found Smita Mistry dead at a house in Gedge Way on Tuesday.

The discovery was made after police received a call raising concerns for the safety of 32-year-old Smita, who was also known locally as Smita Saunders, at 8.07pm on Tuesday.

A 36-year-old man, of Leicester, was subsequent­ly arrested on suspicion of murder. The man, who is believed to be known to Smita, remains in police custody.

A police cordon was still in place at the property yesterday.

Detective Inspector Nicole Main, from East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “Our inquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstan­ces of events before Smita’s death and, as part of this, we are appealing to speak to the driver of the car mentioned.

“If this was you, or you have any informatio­n as to who this may have been, then we urge you to make contact with us so that you can help us with our investigat­ion.

“We also continue to appeal to anyone else who had any contact with Smita between Friday, March 19, and the evening of Tuesday to get in touch with us, no matter how insignific­ant the contact you had may seem.

“Anyone who has been in the area of Gedge Way between that Friday and the evening of Tuesday is also urged to think back to anything you may have seen or heard which could assist our inquiries, and to make contact with us, if you have not already done so.

“If you have any CCTV or dashcam footage from the area during this time, and have not yet made contact with us, then please get in touch.

“I continue to thank everyone who has spoken with us so far and assisted us with this investigat­ion, as well as to people in the community for your ongoing support and cooperatio­n as we continue our investigat­ion and to establish the full circumstan­ces of this incident.”

Anyone with any informatio­n is urged to call 101 or contact the force through its website.

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 ?? POLICE/CHRIS GORDON ?? CCTV: Police have released an image of a car whose driver they hope to trace. Below, an area of Gedge Way that detectives have cordoned off
POLICE/CHRIS GORDON CCTV: Police have released an image of a car whose driver they hope to trace. Below, an area of Gedge Way that detectives have cordoned off

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