Tributes to Anneli

TRIBUTES to spree killer victim Anneli Alderton continued to flood in today.

Friends of the 24-year-old mother-of-one are urging the public to remember the friend, known to them as Anni, as the “lively free spirit” she truly was.

Anneli, a former Copleston High School student, was the third victim of the serial killer or killers currently stalking the county.

Messages of condolence and tributes to the mother, who lived in Colchester, are being posted on The Evening Star's website.

Friends have laid flowers and cards near to the scene of her death and have told how she tried to break away from the drugs and prostitution which ultimately led her into the hands of her killer.

One friend, who wished to be known only as “B”, has written a letter to Evening Star readers because she wants people to know the truth about her friend.

It reads: “We remember her as a lively, free spirit who had an amazing lust for life, even though the end of her life was not how any of us expected it to be.

“We will never ever forget her way of making us all laugh when we needed to be cheered up.”

“B” attended Clifford Road Primary School with Anneli from 1990 to 1992 before her friend moved to Cyprus with her mum.

She returned a few years later and then attended Copleston with “B”.

Another friend, who wanted to be known as “K” described Anneli as “beautiful, kind, caring girl” who lost her way through tragedy.

Anneli's father died when she was 15 and grief overcame her, causing a downward spiral.

She started taking drugs and turned to prostitution as a way of funding her habit.

One of the messages left on the Star's website by a person known as Ken said: “I knew Anneli when she was six as her father was dating my mum.

“It's so sad to hear of her death, on top of all the struggles and challenges she's had to face in her life and for her to fall victim to the sick person/people that are doing this has shocked my family considerably.”