Brutal murder in Derry: PSNI appeal to help catch perpetrator of 'heinous and evil crime'

Derry Journal

Police have issued an appeal to the public to help catch the killer of a woman whose body was discovered with multiple injuries in a flat in Derry city centre in the early hours of Saturday.

Transcript

00:00We have launched a murder investigation into the death of a woman at a flat in the city

00:07centre of Derry, London, Derry, in the early hours of today, Saturday the 24th of August.

00:27A fire was reported in a ground floor flat on Harvey Street at around 4.15am. Crews from

00:38Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service responded along with Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

00:43and our officers. Tragically, the victim, who was located in the bedroom of this flat,

00:50was pronounced dead. At this time, at what is the very early stages of our investigation,

00:57we are working to identify the victim, who we believe may be aged possibly in her 40s

01:02to mid-60s. From our enquiries so far, we can tell you that the victim suffered a horrific

01:10attack and sustained multiple injuries. We know this brutal murder has caused great concern.

01:19Understandably, but we can assure you we are working at full pace to establish what happened

01:26and catch those responsible for this heinous and evil crime. You will see an increase in

01:34police presence in the city in the coming hours and days and I am grateful to members

01:40of the public for their ongoing support. A scene on Harvey Street remains in place as

01:47we continue our investigation. We have a number of specific appeals to make and I urge anyone

01:55with information to contact us or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous.

02:06Were you in the Harvey Street area between 2am and 5am today? Did you notice or hear

02:14anything remotely suspicious or see any unusual activity, including vehicles not normally

02:21in the area or anything out of the ordinary? If you have any CCTV, doorbell or dash cam

02:29footage from this time frame, please contact us. I am appealing directly to the local community

02:37to tell us anything you know. We need to find out who did this. Our enquiries are ongoing

02:46in relation to a motive and we need the public's help. Any information, no matter how small

02:53it may seem, could be very helpful. A post-mortem will be carried out to establish the cause

03:01of death. When you say she suffered horrific injuries, can you just tell us a little bit

03:08more about the injuries? Because I have yet to identify the victim, I have to respect

03:13her dignity and I also have to respect the thoughts and feelings of the victim's family,

03:17so I don't want to go into any more detail at this stage. Can you give any indication

03:22as to weapons that might have been used if that was the case? I believe a weapon was

03:29used, but because we're still at the very early stages of our investigation, I can't

03:33confirm what type of weapon at this stage and I want a weapon until the post-mortem

03:36examination is carried out. Have you any leads in terms of your enquiry as to who might be

03:43responsible or do you believe this was a random attack? We're at the very early stages of

03:48the investigation, so I cannot speculate at this stage as to motive or who was involved.

03:53However, I would have paid to the community to come forward with any information at all,

03:58no matter how small, because this was a brutal and savage attack on this woman and we owe

04:03it to her to identify the perpetrator and bring them to justice. In many people, it

04:10was one person involved in the war and the fact that you're saying about increasing police

04:14activity, do you fear this person will be able to strike again? We're at the very early

04:19stages of our investigation, so I don't want to speculate, but I want to reassure the public

04:23that there will be an increased police presence in the city during the next coming hours and

04:29days and we will be working around the clock to identify who's responsible for this and

04:34bring them to justice. Why haven't you been able to determine a definitive age, because

04:4740 and 60 is quite a big number. It's still at the very early stages of the investigation,

04:53I don't want to speculate and I don't want to mislead the public in any way, that's why

04:58I want to wait for the post-mortem examination and we're hoping with the public's help, if

05:05they come forward with information, that we may identify the victim as soon as possible.

05:09Just in terms of the sequencing, do you think she was murdered with a weapon before the

05:15thought was set in fire? That is my understanding at this stage, yes. So she would have been

05:19dead before the fire was lit? I believe so at this stage, but hopefully with the post-mortem

05:26examination I will know more detail. Do we know is the victim a long-term resident in

05:29the flat or will she be able to stay? It's still at the very early stages of the investigation

05:34so I cannot speculate at this stage, but we're hoping to establish that in the coming hours.

05:38Has CCTV been pulled from the area around there as well, seen the cordon was very wide

05:43today? That is one of our main lines of inquiry, so that's why I want to appeal to the public

05:47who may have any CCTV on the property, any dash cam footage or any ring doorbell footage

05:52to please come forward and give that information to police so we can secure it.

05:56Is a wrestling motive allowed at this stage, please?

06:00We're keeping a very open mind with regards to any motive at this stage, but I cannot

06:04comment further. Is there any indication that the woman was local?

06:08Again, we're still at the very early stages of the investigation and keeping a very open

06:12mind as to the woman's identity, but I cannot say any further at this stage.

06:18In terms of the house itself, do you know whether other people are living in the house

06:24or in the house at the time? It's a multiple occupancy residence and there

06:30were persons in the building, but they are safe and well.

06:35When you say multiple occupancy, you mean a hostel?

06:38No, a series of flats. But in that particular flat?

06:42No, not that I believe. So you think she would have been there on her own?

06:47Well, it's still very early stages of the investigation. I just want to keep an open mind.

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