Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘NO MOTIVE’ IN BRUTAL DOG WALKER MURDER
Link to rape in woods probed
THE motive of an elderly dog walker’s murder in the woods remains a mystery, detectives say.
Nothing was stolen from the 83-year-old victim, they revealed. And his car and dogs were found in the remote beauty spot after the stabbing.
The 5ft 7in father of two was slashed repeatedly in his head and neck in East Harling, Norfolk, on Saturday.
It emerged yesterday that an elderly female dog walker was raped and left for dead near the same spot. She was attacked in West Harling Heath in 1994 and her teenage attacker was never caught.
Norfolk Police last night said they were investigating any possible links between the two crimes.
Chief Supt Mike Fawcett said: “The major investigation team will look at all avenues.”
Locals have been stunned by the murder, which happened close to Princess Diana’s former prep school, Riddlesworth Hall.
The married victim, who police are refusing to name until given the go-ahead by the coroner’s office, lived locally. He drove to the woods in his red Skoda Fabia with his two dogs – a foxhound cross and a trailhound cross.
Chief Supt Fawcett added: “We believe that the public may hold a vital clue.” He asked local people to check bins for the murder weapon or blood-stained clothing.
Dog walkers claim the woodland, near a pig farm, is a haunt of drug dealers.
Terry Ransom, 73, said: “The woods have become more dodgy. You see people driving up in cars and exchanging something. I’m sure it’s drugs. There was also a guy in his 20s who just stood in the woods staring at me.”