Missing student, 22, ‘tied up by bra and killed’ 33 years ago
AN art student who disappeared more than 40 years ago may have been tied to a tree and sexually assaulted before being murdered, an inquest has heard.
But potentially vital evidence into the suspected killing of Jessie Earl 33 years ago was “destroyed” by police.
A 1989 inquest into the death recorded an open verdict – but later, in 2000, Sussex Police concluded Ms Earl, 22, was murdered. Nobody has been arrested.
A second inquest, ordered in December by the High Court, opened at Eastbourne Town
Hall, East Sussex, yesterday.
Ms Earl’s body was found in undergrowth at Beachy Head near Eastbourne in 1989, nine years after she vanished from her nearby flat, and there was a bra lying at the scene.
The inquest heard the bra was tied in a knot and could have been used as a “restraint, gag, weapon or ligature”.
Retired Sussex Police detective sergeant Anne Capon told the inquest: “Because the bra was found near a tree, we believed she could have been tied to a tree.”
She told the coroner there was “possibly” a sexual element involved, but that it is impossible to be sure of an alleged sexual assault due to the length of time that passed before she was found.
Ms Capon, who has been involved with the case over the decades, said this bra was “disposed of” – likely due to Sussex Police’s policy where items are thrown out “after a certain period of time”.
She said “terrific advances” in forensic testing means there is “every chance” DNA on it may have assisted police.
She added that the senior investigating officer “insisted” they did not air their view that Ms Earl was murdered at the time of the original inquiry.
The inquest continues.