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THE director of a charity that runs an ex-offenders hostel in the Hampshire village where a pensioner was murdered has admitted that it would probably close should any residents be involved.
Cath Magee, a director of the Langley House Trust that runs Elderfield House in Otterbourne, was speaking at a packed public meeting last night called to discuss the killing of Georgina Edmonds.
Four residents of Elderfield House were arrested by police within days of the body was discovered. Three have been released with no further action and one is on police bail.
Ms Magee told villagers that if an Elderfield resident was involved: "It would be very difficult. We understand that following Anthony Rice when a resident murdered Naomi Bryant in 2005 there was a crisis of confidence in us.
Ms Magee added that Elderfield had been operating in the village since 1959 and currently has 17 residents, assessed as low to medium risk of re-offending.
The meeting attended by more than 200 people at the village hall heard that since the murder an unspecified number of Elderfield residents had been moved by Hampshire Probation Service.
Barry Crook, head of the service, said: "I took the decision that some might be at risk of re-offending because of the pressure and focus. So we have moved some so the risk does not arise. They have moved where there is a greater level of supervision."
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