Murder police hunt for missed lead

By Richard Cornwell

DETECTIVES are today again sifting through all the evidence gathered in the hunt for the murderer of schoolgirl Vicky Hall – looking for a missed lead.

Suffolk Police have handed the case over to colleagues in Hertfordshire to have a fresh pair of eyes analyse the information.

The case is not being taken away from the Suffolk force and it is routine to allow officers from outside to review major cases.

As they are not part of the investigation, they can sometimes spot vital clues which have been overlooked.

It is not the first time other officers have been called in to review the evidence and investigation procedures of the Vicky case.

A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said Hertfordshire police were reviewing the case to see if there were any more lines of inquiry which could be pursued.

This was normal procedure under Association of Chief Police Officer guidelines.

"We are reviewing the case. An outside force has been invited in to review things, to go through everything. They are going through all the evidence and lines of inquiry," he said.

Sixth form student Vicky, 17, was abducted in the early hours of September 19, 1999, after a night out with her best friend Gemma Algar at the Bandbox nightclub on Bent Hill, Felixstowe.

Her naked body was found in a water-filled ditch in Creeting St Peter, near Stowmarket, five days later. There was no evidence of a sex attack and the cause of her death was never established although there was some evidence of asphyxia. Her clothes were never found.

The subsequent investigation cost more than £1 million and was the biggest murder inquiry the Suffolk force has ever undertaken.

Felixstowe businessman Adrian Bradshaw, 27, was cleared of her murder after a trial at Norwich Crown Court in December last year. He maintained his innocence from the moment he was charged in November 2000 and throughout his trial.s