Latest tactic in murder hunt

7:05am Wednesday 9th April 2008

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IT HAS been Hampshire's largest ever manhunt, with police devoting more than 25,000 hours, fielding 551 calls, taking 981 statements and obtaining 2,187 exhibits.

But three months after grandmother Georgina Edmonds was brutally tortured and murdered in her Brambridge home, her killer remains at large.

Officers have flown to Poland in their search for the murderer, sent information to residents' mobile phones using bluetooth technology, and a £6,000 reward has been put up in the hunt for clues.

Now detectives are hoping to gather more vital leads by showing their key information to shoppers as they queue at Eastleigh Post Office.

The murder squad has put together a DVD showing CCTV footage of someone attempting to use Mrs Edmonds' cash card hours after she was killed on January 11.

The images show a man wearing a fluorescent jacket trying to withdraw money at the ATMat Tesco Express in Twyford Road, Eastleigh, at about 10.40pm that night.

The DVD, being played on rotation at the High Street post office, also features e-fit pictures of four men seen in the area on the day of the murder.

"We hope that by playing the DVD inside the post office we will keep the incident fresh in people's minds and encourage more people to come forward," said Det Chief Insp Paul Barton.

Despite already receiving a good response, he believes the person who horrifically stabbed the 77-year-old to death is likely to live locally, and could have confessed to someone they know.

"This is still very much an active investigation and we still have a full team working on the inquiry," said DCI Barton.

"We are still urging people to come forward, in particular, with information about the man who used Mrs Edmonds' cash card and the other men who were seen in the area on the day of the incident.

"These people could well be witnesses or just people in the area on the day but we need to identify them in order to eliminate them from the inquiry."

Anyone with any information about this incident should call the Operation Columbian investigation team at Hulse Road on 0845 045 45 45, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Information can also be sent to Freepost, Operation Columbian or e-mailed to operation.columbian@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.