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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Sex assault link to girl's death | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A girl found strangled in her mother's boyfriend's lorry may have been sexually assaulted, police have said. | A girl found strangled in her mother's boyfriend's lorry may have been sexually assaulted, police have said. |
| Stacey Lawrence, nine, was found in the cab of the lorry on the A605 near Warmington in Northamptonshire on Saturday afternoon. | Stacey Lawrence, nine, was found in the cab of the lorry on the A605 near Warmington in Northamptonshire on Saturday afternoon. |
| Darren Walker, 40, from West Bromwich, was found dead in woods nearby. | Darren Walker, 40, from West Bromwich, was found dead in woods nearby. |
| Det Ch Insp Tricia Kirk of Northants Police said: "We cannot rule out now that there was some sexual touching involved in this incident." | Det Ch Insp Tricia Kirk of Northants Police said: "We cannot rule out now that there was some sexual touching involved in this incident." |
| She added: "Darren Walker, who is the suspect for this offence, and as you know is also deceased, has a history of a domestic incident with his wife who's currently in the process of divorcing him. | She added: "Darren Walker, who is the suspect for this offence, and as you know is also deceased, has a history of a domestic incident with his wife who's currently in the process of divorcing him. |
| "He was cautioned for that offence and we have no other criminal records for him." | "He was cautioned for that offence and we have no other criminal records for him." |
| Black fabric | Black fabric |
| It is believed Mr Walker murdered Stacey, also of West Bromwich, then hanged himself from a tree. | It is believed Mr Walker murdered Stacey, also of West Bromwich, then hanged himself from a tree. |
| Det Ch Insp Tricia Kirk said 'sexual touching' could not be ruled out | Det Ch Insp Tricia Kirk said 'sexual touching' could not be ruled out |
| Det Ch Insp Kirk added: "She was strangled with a ligature of black fabric, which is the same fabric as Walker used to hang himself. | Det Ch Insp Kirk added: "She was strangled with a ligature of black fabric, which is the same fabric as Walker used to hang himself. |
| "It's some sort of strapping, we're trying to identify what it's actually used for." | "It's some sort of strapping, we're trying to identify what it's actually used for." |
| She said detectives were trying to piece together what happened in the run-up to the killing. | |
| Mr Walker worked as a lorry driver for wholesale distribution firm AF Blakemore and Son, which delivers goods to Spar shops across the Midlands from a depot in Willenhall, West Midlands. | Mr Walker worked as a lorry driver for wholesale distribution firm AF Blakemore and Son, which delivers goods to Spar shops across the Midlands from a depot in Willenhall, West Midlands. |
| Stacey had accompanied him on a trip to make deliveries in East Anglia. | Stacey had accompanied him on a trip to make deliveries in East Anglia. |
| Police said the vehicle left the depot at 0400 BST on Friday and headed for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. | Police said the vehicle left the depot at 0400 BST on Friday and headed for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. |
| After making deliveries to Spar stores in the county, it was returning to the West Midlands when it stopped just outside Peterborough at about 1500 BST. | After making deliveries to Spar stores in the county, it was returning to the West Midlands when it stopped just outside Peterborough at about 1500 BST. |
| It arrived in the lay-by in nearby Warmington shortly after 1535 BST. | It arrived in the lay-by in nearby Warmington shortly after 1535 BST. |
| Phone call | |
| Det Ch Insp Kirk said the pair were spotted leaving the lorry to use a toilet at the services. They ate a meal of macaroni cheese and Stacey's mother Roxanne last heard from Mr Walker some time between 1930 and 2000 BST that night. | |
| She said: "She trusted him and did not have any reason to think that he would ever cause any harm to her daughter. | |
| It was a model family, very well balanced, very popular, the parents were very supportive and we can't understand what's gone on here, really Keith Shilton, Stacey's head teacher | |
| "When he called her, he said he was about to go to bed and was expecting to leave in the early hours of Saturday to get back to the depot. | |
| "She heard Stacey talking in the background because she was watching a programme that she particularly liked. | |
| "Her mother thought that was My Family. | |
| "She doesn't describe there being any indication that there was anything wrong, it was just a normal conversation." | |
| 'Very caring' | |
| In a newspaper interview, Ms Lawrence said she had been planning to marry Mr Walker, who she believed was a dedicated family man. | |
| Keith Shilton, head teacher of Eaton Valley Primary in West Bromwich, described Stacey as one of its star pupils. | |
| "We are devastated. None of us can understand what's gone wrong," he said. | |
| "It was a model family, very well balanced, very popular, the parents were very supportive and we can't understand what's gone on here, really." | |
| He said he knew the mother better than the stepfather, adding: "She was very supportive and would be involved with the school as much as she needed to and was a regular visitor too." | |
| Asked if there was any sign of trouble, he said: "Nothing at all. Nothing at all. The parents presented themselves as a very caring, loving family." | |
| Mr Shilton said staff "thought the world of her" and told a story in which Stacey bought a pregnant teacher a cuddly toy. | |
| "That was the sort of child she was," he said. |