Murder appeal

Murder victim’s teenage daughter appeals for help in finding brutal killer.

The teenage daughter of Bournemouth murder victim Heather Barnett – who with her brother discovered their mother’s mutilated body – has been praised for bravery by the senior detective leading the determined hunt for the brutal killer.

Caitlin Marsh – who is now 18 – broke her seven year silence recently and spoke for the first time about her mother’s murder, her over-riding desire to see the killer brought to justice and the urgent need for the public to come forward with information.

Caitlin was just eleven when her mother was murdered and speaking to the media recently she said that someone knew, or suspected they knew, the identity of the killer and that the killer should come forward to the police.

She appealed to that person, or people, to examine their consciences and come forward to the police as a matter or urgency with the information they have been keeping to themselves for seven years.

Speaking with emotion, Caitlin also recalled the day – Tuesday 12 November 2002 just after 4pm – that she and her then 14-year-old brother Terry returned home to their ground floor flat in a terraced house in Capstone Road, Charminster, to find their mother lying dead on the bathroom floor.

The 48-year old seamstress – who grew up in the North Dorset town of Sturminster Newton – had been hit over the head with a hammer-like object and stabbed several times. Heather’s body was also mutilated – her breasts had been cut off and placed next to her body while strands of cut hair, not belonging to her, were placed in her right hand.

Detective Superintendent Mark Cooper – who has worked on the murder case since the start – said: “Caitlin was exceptionally brave in speaking out to the media and saying just how she felt. It was a powerful message and she has my every admiration…
 
“…This is an unusual murder case and the professional and focussed investigation continues to be a challenge. We are utilising the latest advances in DNA genetic profiling and Dorset Police is committed to achieving justice for Heather and her family.”

Detectives with Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team have been following several lines of specific enquiry – liaising closely with Interpol and the Italian police over potential links with the case of missing Italian teenager Elisa Claps whose body was found at a church in Potenza, Southern Italy, during March 2010.

Anyone with information about the murder of Heather Barnett should call Dorset Police in confidence on 01202 222 222 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111 where mobile phone tariffs may apply.