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| Dog smells blood at Jersey home | Dog smells blood at Jersey home |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Police sniffer dogs have detected traces of blood at the former children's home in Jersey at the centre of a major abuse investigation. | Police sniffer dogs have detected traces of blood at the former children's home in Jersey at the centre of a major abuse investigation. |
| The dogs found two spots of blood in a concrete bath in an underground chamber at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin. | |
| Police say 100 people claim to have been abused at the home, where part of a child's skull has been found. | Police say 100 people claim to have been abused at the home, where part of a child's skull has been found. |
| Some 25 people are suspected of taking part in sexual and physical assaults at the home dating back to the 1960s. | |
| A heavy weight has been lifted not only from my shoulders, but from my heart Letter from alleged victim | A heavy weight has been lifted not only from my shoulders, but from my heart Letter from alleged victim |
| Investigators say there are more than 40 suspects in the inquiry overall, and 262 more phone calls relating to allegations of abuse are still being processed. | |
| Jersey's Deputy Police Chief, Lenny Harper, read a letter to journalists which he had received from one alleged victim who had been interviewed. | Jersey's Deputy Police Chief, Lenny Harper, read a letter to journalists which he had received from one alleged victim who had been interviewed. |
| "Whilst finishing up with you I did experience a period of an emotional breakdown, yet again. I can say now that a heavy weight has been lifted not only from my shoulders, but from my heart," the letter said. | "Whilst finishing up with you I did experience a period of an emotional breakdown, yet again. I can say now that a heavy weight has been lifted not only from my shoulders, but from my heart," the letter said. |
| 'Slow search' | |
| Mr Harper said it showed how the investigation was affecting those involved. | |
| "This is an indication of the job that our officers are doing and how it is affecting those victims." | |
| Mr Harper said the dog had responded to what appeared to two spots of blood, although this had to be confirmed through scientific analysis. | |
| If we rushed it we would be in danger of missing evidence that was there Lenny HarperJersey Deputy Police Chief | |
| "I would emphasise that there could be an innocent explanation [for the blood spots], but it could be corroboration for what witnesses have told us," he told the BBC. | |
| The search of the home was expected to continue at the same "slow, methodical" pace, he said. | |
| "We are looking for evidence, and the evidence is not of necessity going to be large or dramatic," he said. | |
| "If we rushed it we would be in danger of missing evidence that was there." | |
| However, investigators would be "delighted" if they left the home without discovering any further remains of children, he added. | |
| The police investigation, which began covertly in 2006, led to the discovery of part of a child's skull last month in a stairwell at the back of the building. | |
| The remains are thought to date from the early 1980s. Police have not said whether they are male or female. | |
| The children's home closed in 1986 and was later converted into a youth hostel. |