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Woman arrested over teenager's death in Rotherham Tributes paid to Rotherham teenager as second person arrested over death
(about 13 hours later)
A 26-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with the death of a 16-year-old girl in Rotherham. The family of a teenager who was found dead this week have paid tribute to her, calling her their “beautiful daughter and sister”. Relatives of 16-year-old Leonne Weeks said they were devastated by her loss as it emerged that a second arrest had been made in connection with her death.
The woman’s arrest on Tuesday night came after the arrest of an 18-year-old man on suspicion of murdering the teenager, named locally as Leonne Weeks. Both remain in custody and are being questioned by police. Leonne’s body was found on a path near Rotherham on Monday. An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, and a 26-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender. They both remain in custody and are being questioned by police.
The body of the victim – who has not yet been formally identified – was discovered on a path in the Dinnington area of the South Yorkshire town on Monday after friends and family had issued desperate appeals on social media for her whereabouts. “She was very much loved and will be missed by all of us, her family said in a statement released by the police on Wednesday,” they added, asking that they be given room to grieve.
South Yorkshire police said they were called to the scene at about 10.55am after receiving reports from members of the public. At a press conference on Monday night, they said they were treating the death as suspicious because of “concerns around the state of the body and injuries”. On Tuesday morning, her uncle Danny Bowskill wrote on Facebook: “Rest in peace my wonderful niece never thought I would ever be writing this but Leonne Weeks you [were] and still are loved by so many. I’ll be there for your dad and mum all the way.”
Supt Sarah Poolman said police had received a missing persons report 20 minutes before the body was found and that additional police patrols would be in place over the coming days to provide “reassurance to the local community and wider general public”. She urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward. Leonne’s body was discovered by a member of the public in Dinnington, which is between Rotherham and Worksop on Monday morning, only 20 minutes after police had received a report of a missing person.
Facebook posts from Monday morning show friends and family appealing to anyone with information about the girl’s whereabouts to contact them, after Leonne did not return home on Sunday night. A growing pile of flowers nearby included notes paying tribute to her. “All our thoughts are with you,” read one. “Heaven has gained an angel. Fly high sweetie.”
On Tuesday morning, the victim’s uncle, Danny Bowskill, wrote on Facebook: “Rest in peace my wonderful niece never thought I would ever be writing this but Leonne Weeks you [were] and still are loved by so many. I’ll be there for your dad and mum all the way.” The alleyway was cordoned off and placed under police guard on Tuesday morning. Forensics experts were seen entering a house on a nearby street, with a police car and crime scene investigations van.
The alleyway where Leonne’s body was found, remained cordoned off and under police guard on Tuesday morning. A growing pile of flowers included notes paying tribute to Leonne. “All our thoughts are with you. Heaven has gained an angel. Fly high sweetie,” read one. The senior investigating officer, temporary DCI Martin Tate, said: “Leonne’s family have had their entire lives turned upside down over the last couple of days and are utterly devastated. We are continuing to support Leonne’s family in any way that we can and have specially trained officers with them.
On Tuesday morning, forensics experts were seen entering a house on a nearby street, with a police car and crime scene investigations van outside. “I am grateful for the support we have received so far with the investigation and would continue to urge anyone within the local community who knows anything to come forward.”
A postmortem examination on Tuesday found that Leonne died from multiple stab wounds, police said.