Scots woman’s body dumped in wheelie bin
A WOMAN whose body was found dumped in a wheelie bin has been named as police arrested a second man on suspicion of her murder.
Nicola Stevenson, 39, who is believed to be from Edinburgh, died after suffering a serious head injury.
Police said that the bin she was found in on Wednesday could have been in the undergrowth at the edge of a park in Lewes, East Sussex, for more than a fortnight.
According to information on her Facebook page, former Balerno High School pupil Miss Stevenson was a recovering cancer patient.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said despite no formal identification they are satisfied the body is that of Miss Stevenson and her next of kin have been informed. Her final Facebook post was made on October 9.
Following the discovery of her body, police initially treated Miss Stevenson’s death as unexplained but a murder inquiry was launched after a post-mortem examination showed she had suffered a serious head injury.
Yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Friday said: ‘Our thoughts at this time are with Nicola’s family and friends and we are determined to seek justice for them.
‘Nicola died following a significant blow to the head. Her body had been placed in the wheelie bin and dumped in the undergrowth and we want to establish when that happened and when she was last seen alive.
‘We know the bin was probably there on November 1 and we are trying to establish when Nicola was last seen alive. I am interested to hear from anyone who saw her after around the first week of October.’
A 41-year-old man was arrested in Lewes on Thursday morning and later that day a 37-year-old man was arrested in Eastbourne. Both men, who are of no fixed address, are being held on suspicion of murder and remain in custody.
Mr Friday added: ‘We are very keen to hear from anyone who may be missing a wheelie bin or who may have seen it lying in undergrowth at the scene over the last few weeks.
‘There were a considerable number of people in the area for one of the Bonfire Night firework displays and we would particularly like to hear from them if they saw anything.’
Yesterday, search and forensic teams continued to work at the recreation ground and at Miss Stevenson’s home in nearby Stansfield Road.