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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Hair analysis 'link' to murderer | Hair analysis 'link' to murderer |
| (3 days later) | |
| Strands of cut hair placed in the hands of a murdered mother-of-two could provide Dorset detectives with new clues in the hunt for her killer. | Strands of cut hair placed in the hands of a murdered mother-of-two could provide Dorset detectives with new clues in the hunt for her killer. |
| Heather Barnett, 48, was stabbed and mutilated during a frenzied attack at her Bournemouth home in 2002. | Heather Barnett, 48, was stabbed and mutilated during a frenzied attack at her Bournemouth home in 2002. |
| However, despite investigating a number of lines of inquiry, detectives have never found her murderer. | However, despite investigating a number of lines of inquiry, detectives have never found her murderer. |
| But now scientists have been able to provide evidence which may lead to discovering who the hair belonged to. | But now scientists have been able to provide evidence which may lead to discovering who the hair belonged to. |
| To coincide with the fifth anniversary of the seamstress's death, a Dorset detective is also appealing for information on the Italian version of the BBC One Crimewatch programme that could link the murder with the case of a missing Italian girl. | To coincide with the fifth anniversary of the seamstress's death, a Dorset detective is also appealing for information on the Italian version of the BBC One Crimewatch programme that could link the murder with the case of a missing Italian girl. |
| We are very keen to speak to the person that this cut hair belongs to because they could be a significant witness Det Supt Mark Cooper Daughter breaks her silence | We are very keen to speak to the person that this cut hair belongs to because they could be a significant witness Det Supt Mark Cooper Daughter breaks her silence |
| Police in Potenza have reopened the case of 16-year-old Elisa Claps who disappeared from the southern Italian town in September 1993. Her body has never been found. | |
| Police have been investigating whether there was a possible "hair fetish" link between Miss Claps's disappearance and Heather Barnett's case. | Police have been investigating whether there was a possible "hair fetish" link between Miss Claps's disappearance and Heather Barnett's case. |
| The body of Ms Barnett was discovered by her son, Terry, then 14, and Daughter, Caitlin, who was just 11, in her flat in Capstone Road in Charminster on 12 November 2002. | The body of Ms Barnett was discovered by her son, Terry, then 14, and Daughter, Caitlin, who was just 11, in her flat in Capstone Road in Charminster on 12 November 2002. |
| Ms Barnett, from Sturminster Newton, north Dorset, had been hit over the head with a hammer-like weapon before her children returned home from school. | Ms Barnett, from Sturminster Newton, north Dorset, had been hit over the head with a hammer-like weapon before her children returned home from school. |
| She was found with someone's cut hair in both hands, and police later revealed that 14 women in Bournemouth had reported having hair cut off on buses. | She was found with someone's cut hair in both hands, and police later revealed that 14 women in Bournemouth had reported having hair cut off on buses. |
| Elisa Claps, 19, vanished in Potenza in 1993 | Elisa Claps, 19, vanished in Potenza in 1993 |
| Dorset Police enlisted Dr Stuart Black, an expert in environmental radioactivity at the University of Reading, to examine the strands of hair found in Ms Barnett's hands. | Dorset Police enlisted Dr Stuart Black, an expert in environmental radioactivity at the University of Reading, to examine the strands of hair found in Ms Barnett's hands. |
| His chemical and isotope analysis of the nine-centimetre long strands of hair, representing nine months' growth, revealed the owner changed diet twice, in the three months before the hair was cut. | His chemical and isotope analysis of the nine-centimetre long strands of hair, representing nine months' growth, revealed the owner changed diet twice, in the three months before the hair was cut. |
| They also visited an area between Valencia and Almeria in eastern Spain and or the Marseille to Perpignan area of southern France for up to six days, some eleven weeks before the hair was cut. | They also visited an area between Valencia and Almeria in eastern Spain and or the Marseille to Perpignan area of southern France for up to six days, some eleven weeks before the hair was cut. |
| They then visited the urban area of Tampa in Florida, southern USA, for eight days some two to two and a half weeks before the hair was cut. | They then visited the urban area of Tampa in Florida, southern USA, for eight days some two to two and a half weeks before the hair was cut. |
| 'Cold case' reopened | 'Cold case' reopened |
| Dr Black said: "We can analyse very small concentrations of those chemical elements, look at and compare with databases of previously published data so we can find out, potentially, what type of diet they had, where they were living and what their relatively recent movements were, according to what was in the hair." | Dr Black said: "We can analyse very small concentrations of those chemical elements, look at and compare with databases of previously published data so we can find out, potentially, what type of diet they had, where they were living and what their relatively recent movements were, according to what was in the hair." |
| Since the murder probe was launched, Dorset Police have been pursuing a number of inquiries. | Since the murder probe was launched, Dorset Police have been pursuing a number of inquiries. |
| Det Supt Mark Cooper, who is leading the investigation, has travelled to Italy at least twice over the past five years to liaise with his counterparts over the Elisa Claps investigation. | Det Supt Mark Cooper, who is leading the investigation, has travelled to Italy at least twice over the past five years to liaise with his counterparts over the Elisa Claps investigation. |
| On Friday, police in Potenza said they had reopened her case and were "working in close co-operation with British police from Dorset, co-ordinated by Interpol". | On Friday, police in Potenza said they had reopened her case and were "working in close co-operation with British police from Dorset, co-ordinated by Interpol". |
| A Dorset detective will appear on the Italian state television channel RAI on Monday evening. | A Dorset detective will appear on the Italian state television channel RAI on Monday evening. |
| Det Supt Cooper said: "We are very keen to speak to the person that this cut hair belongs to because they could be a significant witness." | Det Supt Cooper said: "We are very keen to speak to the person that this cut hair belongs to because they could be a significant witness." |
| People can call in confidence via a special hotline on 01202 222 500 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111. | People can call in confidence via a special hotline on 01202 222 500 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111. |