Flasher’s attack near where PCSO Julia was murdered
A FEMALE dog walker was recently accosted by a flasher less than a mile from where PCSO Julia James was murdered, it was revealed last night.
The attack, which took place less than two weeks ago, was not reported to police but was confirmed by local councillors last night.
The revelation will raise fears that a sexual predator may be on the loose in the area and targeting female dog walkers. A local said: ‘The victim was shocked. She didn’t take it further.’
Grandmother Mrs James was attacked while walking her dog on a remote countryside footpath, suffering severe head injuries. She was found dead on a bridleway with her Jack Russell terrier Toby by her side at 4pm on Tuesday.
Detectives are investigating whether Mrs James was killed by a stranger or someone known to her from her work in a domestic violence unit. They may have followed her as she walked her dog on the same path by woodland a day earlier.
Police were last night examining previous criminal cases that she worked on in the hunt for her killer. They are trawling through the records of criminals, suspects and missing people that the 53year-old dealt with during her 14year career in uniform, as they continued to look for a motive.
Yesterday scores of officers flooded the rural hamlet of Snowdown and the nearby village of Aylesham in Kent.
Police urged the public to remain ‘vigilant’ as they appealed for dashcam footage of anyone seen acting suspiciously.
Yesterday Mrs James’s ex-partner Wayne Davis, 62, said: ‘ We don’t know if it’s a random attack or whether she was targeted by someone, possibly because of her job.’
He said the case had echoes of one of Britain’s most notorious murder cases, which took place in the village of Chillenden, just two miles away.
Dr Lin Russell, 45, and her daughter Megan, six, were bludgeoned to death as they walked their dog.
Her nine-year-old daughter Josie suffered horrific injuries in the 1996 hammer attack but went on to make a full recovery.
Michael Stone was jailed for life but still protests his innocence.
Mr Davis said: ‘I can’t help but think about the Chillenden murders. My biggest worry is that there’s somebody still out there.’
Mrs James joined Kent Police as a police community support officer in 2007.
Her daughter Bethan Coles is a police officer and son Patrick, 23, lives nearby.