Teenage girl found dead in woodland had been stabbed
A 13-YEAR-OLD girl found dead in woodland in Southampton was stabbed, police confirmed last night.
Officers also said they been given more time to question a 24-year-old man over the sexual assault and murder of Lucy Mchugh.
The man was arrested after her body was found near a sports centre on Thursday. Forensic specialists spent all day examining the scene at the Southampton sports centre.
Police confirmed yesterday that Lucy died from stab wounds, and ap- pealed for anyone who had found a “sharp implement” to come forward. “We cannot say at this stage whether this is a knife, scissors or other bladed implement,” said Det Supt Paul Barton. “Even if someone has put an item in a bin, we will try and recover it.”
He added: “We know how shocked the community is and understand that emotions are running high. However, we ask people not to speculate on social media – it is unhelpful to the investigation and to Lucy’s family. Please allow us to do our job and find out what happened to Lucy.”
Neighbours have spoken of their shock after the news broke of the girl’s death. One couple, who did not want to be named, said: “We’ve got an 11-yearold – similar to [Lucy’s] age. He used to go out that way to the Southampton sports centre but we are not letting him go at the moment – it’s too raw.” Paul Hatcher, another neighbour, said: “It’s very sad, the whole situation. It’s terrifying, I can’t make any sense of it.”