A PICK-up truck driver might have vital information that could help track down the killer of murdered Suffolk pensioner Joan Albert.Detectives hunting the killer of the 79-year-old from Capel St Mary are anxious to speak to the driver of a white, flat back truck seen parked in the village's shopping precinct, near to the church hall, at around 4.

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By LISA BAXTER, crime reporter

lisa.baxter@ecng.co.uk

A PICK-up truck driver might have vital information that could help track down the killer of murdered Suffolk pensioner Joan Albert.

Detectives hunting the killer of the 79-year-old from Capel St Mary are anxious to speak to the driver of a white, flat back truck seen parked in the village's shopping precinct, near to the church hall, at around 4.50am on Sunday, December 16, last year.

Widow Mrs Albert was found dead in the hallway of her Boydlands home at around 10am the same day. Her body was peppered with stab wounds.

Detective Superintendent Roy Lambert, who is heading the murder hunt, said: "Several people have said that a white truck, similar to a Ford P100, was parked in the car park near the church hall in the very early hours of Sunday morning.

"I would like to emphasise that we have no reason to believe that the driver of this vehicle was involved in the attack on Mrs Albert. However, we urgently need to speak to them as they may have seen something that could prove to be important to our inquiry.

"The truck is of a fairly common type and could belong to a local farmer, builder or other trades person. I would like to appeal directly to whoever was in that truck to contact the inquiry team so that we can check if they saw anything and then eliminate them from our investigation."

It is almost eight weeks since Mrs Albert was killed and since the launch of the murder inquiry, police have received more than 450 calls from members of the public offering information which have generated more than 1,400 lines of inquiry. Officers have taken over 360 statements.

Det Supt Lambert said: "This inquiry has received a great deal of support from the community, media and the general public and this is reflected in the volume of information that has been generated to date.

"However, we still need to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area of the Boydlands between 9pm on Saturday, December 15, and 9am the following day.

The pick-up truck driver, or anyone else with information, should contact the murder incident room on 01473 613777.

The Evening Star and Capel businesses are offering a £5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.