Murder inquiry over missing Jayden Parkinson as police seek suitcase man

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/15/murder-inquiry-jayden-parkinson

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A young man seen heaving a "large and heavy" suitcase across a field in Oxfordshire at night is being sought by detectives after police on Saturday confirmed that the disappearance of missing teenager Jayden Parkinson is now a murder inquiry.

The 17-year-old from Oxford was last seen on CCTV leaving Didcot Parkway railway station, south Oxfordshire, at around 4.30pm on 3 December and has not been seen since. Although her body has yet to be discovered, Thames Valley Police revealed they were now focusing on trying to find a man witnessed struggling with a bulky suitcase in a field in the small village of Upton in the early hours of 9 December.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray said: "That suitcase was large, it was heavy, it was difficult to manage and that man was having difficulty removing that suitcase from that area." Murray added that the same man was seen in nearby Didcot about half an hour later, again with the suitcase.

Two men, aged 17 and 22, have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with her disappearance with the latter – understood to be her boyfriend – remaining in police custody. Forensic officers have been examining his home while police have also searched a recycling bin in Didcot to try to unearth evidence.

Murray also revealed that Jayden's family were still clinging on to hope despite the changing nature of their inquiry. "As you might imagine, they are distraught. They've still got hope but they are distraught and they want their daughter to come home."

Murray said the fact Jayden had not used her phone or accessed her bank account since disappearing potentially pointed to a worst-case scenario. "I'm afraid the detective in me leads me to conclude that Jayden may well have been murdered," he said.

The teenager was last seen in the Iffley Road area of Oxford on 3 December but failed to return home that evening as planned. She was wearing light blue faded jeans, a brown hooded top with red lettering on it, a black waist-length jacket, and dark trainers when she was last seen.

It is believed she walked up the High Street through the town centre, arriving at Oxford train station at 4.07pm, where she boarded a train to Didcot. The last sighting of her is when she left Didcot train station at about 4.27pm.

Jayden had moved out of her family home in Didcot to an Oxford hostel just weeks before she vanished. Having left school last summer after taking her GCSEs, she was not believed to be studying or in employment.

The man with the suitcase is described as about 20, white, about 5' 6" tall of medium to slim build, with short dark hair. The suitcase was light coloured, probably made of canvas material.

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