Has Albanian murder suspect kidnapped the victim’s wife?
A GUN- OBSESSED Albanian fugitive was at the centre of an international manhunt last night as police fear he may have kidnapped the missing wife of a murdered pensioner.
Sylvia Stuart, 69, disappeared shortly before the body of her 75-year- old husband Peter was found with multiple stab wounds last Friday in woodland just 50ft from their isolated home in Weybread, Suffolk.
Yesterday police named Ali Qazimaj, 42, as the key suspect in Mr Stuart’s murder and the disappearance of his wife.
But detectives believe the Albanian – who is linked to the couple’s son-in-law Steve Paxman, 61 – may have already fled the country after his car was discovered dumped in the Channel port of Dover.
Police said there was a ‘remote’ possibility that Qazimaj may have taken Mrs Stuart with him, but there was ‘only a glimmer of hope that she was still alive’.
Detectives have warned the public not to approach the murder suspect, who neighbours described last night as a gunobsessed loner who has previously bragged that he could kill someone and dispose of them in a barrel.
His whereabouts were unclear as police said he could be France or elsewhere in Europe, as he is known to speak Polish and is said to have lived in the former Yugoslavia and Prague.
Detectives are also quizzing a man from Leicester arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday morning, who has now been named as the couple’s son-in-law, Steve Paxman, who is married to their daughter, Christy, 41.
He remained in police custody yesterday as teams of forensic officers searched their £300,000 house, where weapons including shotguns and cartridges were seen being removed from the property.
The two suspects are believed to have known each other as Qazimaj dated Mr Paxman’s late stepmother, Helen Paxman.
More recently Qazimaj moved to
‘Said he had made people disappear’
Tilbury in Essex where he vanished on the same day the elderly couple went missing. Yesterday neighbours said the Albanian, who previously worked for Thurrock Council, had bragged that he could kill someone. One 23-year-old woman said Qazimaj had once threatened to kill a neighbour during a row and boasted that he could pick locks and ‘sort people out’.
She said: ‘He would say stuff like he has got people in his country and if anyone did anything to him they would be gone.’
She added: ‘He told a group of boys he would make them disappear. He said, “I’ll stick them in a barrel and then no one would find them again.”’
The woman, who said she was pestered by Qazimaj, added: ‘He used to freak me out a bit. He would come home from work late. He would knock on my door and always said he could make my partner disappear if I wanted.
‘He was always talking about making people disappear, he said he had made people disappear before with barrels.’
Another woman who lives nearby said: ‘He said about two years ago he could get hold of guns and could kill someone. He had an argument with someone downstairs and he said after, “I would kill someone.” I think his dad is from Prague and his mum is from Albania. He is a weird horrible man.’
She claimed Mr Qazimaj had been agitated at work before he disappeared. The mother of two also said she thought firearms had been recovered from his property.
Last night a local hairdresser said Qazimaj, who is divorced and has a child with an ex-wife, had struck up a relationship with Steve Paxman’s stepmother despite a 30-year age gap. She also claimed that Qazimaj, who was a regular in betting shops, had committed an offence in a betting shop in Basildon in 2009.
Suffolk Police confirmed that Qazimaj had ‘a connection’ with the family of Mr and Mrs Stuart.
Last night forensics officers from Norfolk and Suffolk police were seen searching the home of the Stuarts’ son-in-law Steve Paxman. Two cars, including at least one 4x4 vehicle, were seized.
Yesterday a resident said she had spoken to Mr Paxman on Saturday morning. She said he had appeared ‘normal’ and had not discussed the fact that his missing father-in-law had been discovered dead in woodland on Friday night.
The resident said: ‘It was just a perfectly normal conversation – there was no indication that he was under any stress at all. He was just so normal, he was his usual friendly self.’
Yesterday Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Parkes said: ‘While hopes for Sylvia’s safety are reducing with the passage of time, there remains the possibility she is still alive. We are actively working to find Ali Qazimaj and determine his movements. The man arrested yesterday is still in custody.’