CCTV evidence trapped a killer
THE police investigation to find out what happened to Lorraine Cox was one of the largest in Exeter in recent years.
Detectives worked backwards through thousands of hours of CCTV footage to trace her final movements, interviewed half a dozen potential suspects, analysed multiple gigabytes of phone history, took statements from friends and family, closed a city centre road, and spent weeks at the alleged murderer’s address painstakingly inspecting every square inch for DNA evidence.
Along the way they made some gruesome discoveries about how her life had been cut brutally short and her body treated in the most unspeakable way.
Eventually it was the CCTV analysis which led them to Mangori’s door.
They found footage of a man leaving the Bodrum Kebab House at 2.03am. Then they found more of Lorraine coming back to the building with the same man at 2.45am. It proved to be the last time Lorraine was seen alive.
It came eight days after Lorraine had disappeared and police went back to Bodrum to speak to the owner who said he thought the male in the footage was his tenant, a quiet young man who lived on the second floor.
He had only been there about five weeks and had met him just once. His rent was paid by the owner of the shop down the road where he worked.
That evening police went to Bodrum Kebab House and spoke to the tenant. There was no sign of a body.
Mangori introduced himself as Christopher Mayer and produced an asylum card with the name on it. It was the first in a series of lies which punctuated the meeting.
At that point police did not know whether Lorraine was still alive or not. But they had with them a still image from the CCTV which appeared to resemble the man before them.
They showed Mayer the image. He didn’t think it was him and said he had never brought a woman back to the flat. He wasn’t interested in women in that way, he confided.
DS Guy Biggar wondered if there was more to Mayer than met the eye. He checked the serial number in his phone and was able to confirm within a matter of minutes that Lorraine’s SIM had been used in that phone.
Messages sent in Lorraine’s name to her father and friends could be traced back to the man living in Room 1 on the second floor, the man asking polite questions about the missing woman and calling himself Christopher Mayer.
It was the second breakthrough in the case.
Until then Mangori may have thought he had got away with it. The room showed no obvious signs of Lorraine having visited and there was no body. It was later discovered that he had disposed of her remains just a few hours earlier. Police arrested Mayer on suspicion of kidnap.