DETECTIVES have
today revealed that
this is the man they
think murdered
g r a n d m o t h e r
Georgina Edmonds.
It's the first time that officers
working on the inquiry
have revealed they have a
prime suspect for the killing
of the 77-year-old.
They have also expressed
fears that he may strike
again as his confidence
grows because he has so far
managed to evade capture.
Senior officers say the mystery
man who tried to use the
victim's cash card hours
after her body was found is
the only definite link they
have to the killing.
During the early days of
the inquiry, when CCTV
images of the man who can
be seen hunched and hiding
his face from cameras were
released, detectives said they
were exploring the potential
that he had been passed the
card or bought it through the
criminal underworld.
Now, almost seven weeks
since Mrs Edmonds was
found bludgeoned to death in
her cottage in Brambridge
near Otterbourne, they have
revealed it is likely he carried
out the murder.
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Police working on
Operation Columbian, the
name for the inquiry that
has seen 250 police involved
at the height of the investigation,
have also revealed
the killer has stolen a credit
card holder that he may now
be keeping as a trophy for the
murder.
The silver container has
never been recovered despite
vast searches of the
Brambridge area including
the towpath where Mrs
Edmonds' mobile phone was
recovered.
The Daily Echo has learnt
how Mrs Edmonds was last
seen alive by her hairdresser,
who visited her home before
lunchtime on Friday,
January 11.
When she left the house,
the grandmother-of-two had
lunch just before the killer
struck. Inside her cottage he
stole Mrs Edmonds' handbag
containing her purse, keys
and mobile phone and murdered
her by repeated blows
to the head
Her body was found just
before 6pm by her son Harry,
who lives a stones-throw
along the drive with his family,
and a family friend.
D e t e c t i v e
Chief Inspector
Paul Barton said of
the man caught on camera:
"He has to be our prime suspect.
He has the victim's
cash card, he was trying to
use it at a garage in nearby
Twyford Road within six
hours of the body of Mrs
Edmonds being found, he
clearly knows the local area,
he knows where the cameras
are.
"I think we have to assume
that this person is responsible
for her murder. If it is not
then he should come forward
and speak to us - he can be
ruled out very quickly."
Speaking about the man
seen wearing a fluorescent
yellow jacket, he added: "He
is quite clearly using a deliberate
disguise, he knows the
cameras are there, he is hiding
his face with his hands
and wearing some sort of
peaked or woolly hat.
"We are not just looking for
someone who wears a fluorescent
jacket on a daily
basis or at any time. It is likely
they have borrowed it or
stolen it for this event and
has disposed of it but likewise
there is a potential they
may still have it."
Urging people to come forward
with information, Det
Ch Insp Barton added: "This
person may not stop. The
longer this inquiry goes on
the more confident he may
become.
"We continue to believe the
answer lies within the community
and would urge people
to look again at the pictures
of this man and speak
to us if they have information."
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