Huge response to appeal for information to help murder probe

It comes as detectives step up their manhunt to find the killer of the 47-year-old who was discovered in a field by her husband Pete.

This afternon officers have been dredging a nearby river in a search for the murder weapon. 

Police say she had been stabbed to death.

Officers are still unclear about the motive for her vicious murder and have yet to find the murder weapon, which could hold vital clues to finding the murderer.

Detective Superintendent Paul Barton said: “Our officers have been working round the clock following up on a number of enquiries and I’d like to thank everyone who has contacted us with information as a result of our appeal. We’ve had a fantastic response, receiving more than 150 calls since yesterday.

“It’s vital we continue to hear from people who were in the area of Leygreen Farm between 2pm and 5pm on Tuesday. 

"Did you see Pennie or her dark green coloured Toyota Land Cruiser which she drove from work in Blackfield to the field? Did you see or hear anyone acting suspiciously, possibly running away from the scene?

 “We believe the weapon used was a bladed item, possibly a knife, and that it would have most likely been discarded close to the scene."

Local police teams are today posting appeal posters around the scene in the hope of jogging the memories of drivers or other road users who take that route. 

They are also increasing patrols to offer reassurance.

Det Supt Barton continued: “Pennie’s death has come as a shock to many people in the local community and I want to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to investigate her murder.

“As part of our enquiries, we are talking to people in the area to find out more about Pennie and the circumstances leading to her death. 

"Understandably, people will have concerns and suspicions, but I would ask you to contact us with any information and please be aware that speculation, particularly on social media, is not always helpful.

“Pennie’s death has also been felt across the wider community of horse riders and owners. While we can rule nothing out at this stage, there is no evidence of any harm to Sprattley, the horse Pennie was tending to at the time, or any other horses nearby.”

Residents living in Beaulieu yesterday spoke of their fear with a killer on the run in their normally quiet community, which is preparing for one of its busiest weekend of the year as the Autojumble gets underway.

Today exhibitors for the event, which attracts more than 40,000 visitors from across the world, are heading to the National Motor Museum to set up ahead of the official start tomorrow.

Fortunately, most of those are coming into Beaulieu from the opposite road to where police are focusing their investigations, therefore having no effect on the manhunt.

Organisers are reassuring those planning to head to Beaulieu for the two-day extravaganza that everything is going ahead as normal following calls from worried members of the public.

Margaret Rowles, from the museum, said: “It is the biggest weekend of the year and it will be carrying on as normal.

“We are not anticipating that it will have any impact on the police investigation. We will continue to liaise with police, doing what is necessary to assist.”

Pennie, who had only been married for four months, had been tending to her horses at the paddock near Beaulieu, when she was knifed to death.

It was her husband Pete, who she had only been married to for four months, who made the horrific discovery of his wife’s body.

According to Hampshire police he had arranged to meet his wife at the paddock near Beaulieu where she kept horses, to help with the mucking out.

Pennie, who is understood to have only taken over the tenancy of the field opposite Leygreen Farm in the past few days, had visited her horses each day since she moved them there.

Police believe Pennie, who lived and worked in Blackfield, arrived some time around 2pm on Tuesday before her husband raised the alarm shortly before 5pm.

Det Supt Barton said: “He found her lying in the field and on closer examination he could see that she had suffered serious injuries.”

Mr Davis then contacted the emergency services but Pennie, a former Daily Echo employee, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was 24 hours later that police declared it was a murder rather than the “sudden death” they had been treating it as.

According to police t wasn’t until the post-mortem pathologist examined the injuries, that detectives were able to confirm it was a murder inquiry.

They would not comment on whether the murder weapon, thought to be a knife, had been found, or whether Pennie had been sexually assaulted, only that she had died from multiple stab wounds.

Yesterday a team of more than 70 officers were involved in the hunt for her killer.

He said he was keeping an open mind on the motive of the killer: “It is a hypothesis that Mrs Davis was known to her killer but equally she may have not have done.

“This was a vicious attack in a remote area and we do not have the benefit of CCTV or automatic number plate recognition or any of the other things that we can usually rely on.

“However, this is a popular route used by local commuters from Lymington to Southampton to avoid Lyndhurst.

“We believe there will have been tourists in this area at the time as well as commuters, walkers, and people out fishing in the adjacent river.

The investigation has been code named Operation Biscotti and is urging anyone with information who was in the area to contact the investigation team on 101 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.