‘Staged crash’ to hide murder of teenage girl
A TEENAGE girl was killed and her body discovered in the back of a car following a road accident which may have been staged to cover evidence of the crime.
Police launched a murder inquiry after the body of Megan Bannister, 16, was found in the back of the car at the scene of the accident in Leicestershire on Sunday. A post-mortem established that Megan had been killed before the accident, which police believe may have been deliberately staged.
“She met a man at the weekend and she was due to go and see him again on Saturday night,” a friend of Megan’s revealed last night. “She was really excited about it and had told her parents she was going to stay at a friend’s house.”
Two men, aged 27 and 28, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. They were yesterday named locally as Jason Burder and Adam King. Detectives are investigating whether Megan, who was about to take her GCSES, was previously known to the two men.
Her body was found following the crash between a black Vauxhall Astra and a motorbike in Desford Road, Enderby, at about 11.45am on Sunday. Her parents, Tony and Carol Bannister, and her six siblings yesterday paid tribute to their “beautiful, talented, loving daughter and sister”.
Leicestershire Police said: “An initial post-mortem examination was inconclusive and further tests are being conducted to find out exactly how Megan died.
“However, her death is not believed to have been the result of a road traffic collision. Two men from Leicester, aged 27 and 28, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are in custody, where they are being questioned by detectives.”
The rider of the motorbike suffered serious injuries and was taken to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre.