2025.2.19 Man sentenced for fraud offences – Ascot
Following an investigation by Thames Valley Police a man has been sentenced after he was convicted of fraud offences in Ascot.
Darren John Crane, aged 56, formerly of Tall Trees Leisure Park, Gull Road, Cambridgeshire who is also known as Darren Palmer, was sentenced to four years’ and four months in jail.
He was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Thursday 6 February, after he pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation and engaging in trade while bankrupt, contrary to the Insolvency Act 1986.
The sentencing relates to crimes which took place between June 2021 and December 2021 in Ascot.
Crane persuaded a single mother with two children and her family to invest £171,000 in his company.
This was the family’s life savings, as well as large loans the Crane persuaded the woman to take out.
Crane convinced these victims that he was an experienced trader in precious metals and gold guaranteeing them large returns.
However he lost the money through trading, gambling and funding a luxury lifestyle.
He also obtained credit from lenders without informing the lenders that he was bankrupt, which was also illegal.
Crane was charged in November 2023 after an investigation was launched in April 2022.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Kara Reed of our Economic Crime Unit, said: “Crane is a dishonest individual and I am pleased he has been sentenced for his crimes.
“His actions have devastated a family and taken their life savings and left them in a very difficult situation.
“I would like to thank the victims in this case for reporting to us and also supporting our investigation through what has been a very difficult time for them.
“I hope this case shows that fraud is taken seriously and we will investigate and bring people like Crane to justice.”
Marian Beattie was killed in March, 1973
A MAN whose sister’s murder remains unsolved 50 years after her death has blasted their wait for justice.
Marian Beattie was on a night out at a charity dance with her best friend, Nuala Wilson, and her brother Isadore, on March 30, 1973 in Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone.
She was just 18 when she was last seen by her brother leaving the venue with a boy she had been dancing with and promised to be back at their van by 2am.
But she never returned and her body was found hours later at the bottom of a quarry in just her underwear.
Isadore recalled: “We drove straight to the quarry and the strange thing about it is that when we pulled up to the quarry, we just drove straight to where she was within 50ft, 60ft. . . I could see her lying on the bottom of the quarry.
“My first reaction was to run down and get her and the two policemen said, ‘No don’t, we cannot allow you to go there and get her.’”
He added: “Just looking at her you knew it wasn’t an accident because accidents don’t happen like that.”
It emerged she had been hit with a piece of metal.
Isadore told TG4 documentary Maru Inar Measc: “People will tell you time is a great healer. 50 years later it feels no different. When you take your younger sister away to enjoy herself and bring her home in a coffin, it’s not a good feeling.
“To watch your own mother and father almost collapse in grief, that was one of the most hardest things that has ever happened to me in my life. Gut-wrenching and heartbreaking at the same time.”
The case then went unsolved for decades, until the family convinced the PSNI in 2013 to reopen it, all while they carried out their own investigations. This discovered that evidence was missing.
In 2022, a report was sent to the Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson which identified five possible suspects.
A 22-year-old from Portsmouth has been jailed for 18 months after being involved in supply of class A drugs with police hailing the prison sentence as a “clear message” they will not tolerate drug supply in the city.
Brandon Tipling, 22, of Greetham Street was sentenced to a year-and-a-half in prison on Friday, February 7 at Portsmouth Crown Court. He admitted to a number of offences including being involved in the supply of cocaine and heroin, three thefts of bicycles, possession of a bladed article and criminal damage.
Police advised that Tipling’s age at the time of the supply offences was a factor in the sentence that was handed down. PC Mike Ashcroft from Portsmouth’s Priority Crime Team said: “This custodial sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the supply of drugs or associated violence and crime in Portsmouth, or anywhere in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight.”
Tipling was stopped by officers from the High Harm Team (now named Priority Crime Team) on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 following suspicious activity on Grafton Street. Officers found a phone, £290 in cash, and 49 deals of crack cocaine and heroin valued at nearly £500. The phone found had detailed messages on it that were consistent with the operation of a drug supply operation.
In addition to that incident, Tipling was also found to have stolen three bikes, two of which were from Fareham college in September 2024. CCTV also caught Tipling hiding a knife on a shelf in the Premier Store on Isambard Brunel Road on November 7, 2024 after a public order incident outside the shop.
PC Mike Ashcroft added: “Tipling’s age at the time he was caught with the deals of cocaine and heroin informed the sentence he was given. However, this court result demonstrates our commitment to our communities that we will relentlessly pursue those involved in the supply of drugs in our city, they will be arrested and untimely they will face their day in court”.
2025.2.18 My husband took his own life after betting 100 times a day and with £18k debts but nothing has been done
Widow Annie Ashton says not enough is being done to protect addicts like Luke
The widow of a man who took his own life after amassing huge gambling debts has said enough is not being done to protect addicts.
Annie Ashton, whose husband Luke tragically took his own life in South Yorkshire in 2021 after racking up debts of £18,000, has launched a legal challenge against the Gambling Commission at the High Court. She accuses the regulator of failing to adequately protect gamblers.
Luke, who died at the age of 40, was found by a coroner to have had a gambling disorder that contributed to his death. Despite this, he was not classified as a problem gambler.
In 2024, the commission decided against taking regulatory action against the betting company Betfair on two occasions. Mrs Ashton has expressed her dissatisfaction with the Gambling Commission’s efforts to safeguard consumers and vowed to “continue fighting it until something is done”.
She shared her grief and frustration, saying: “I didn’t think there would be anyone else after that (Mr Ashton’s death), and then the reality is there is another family, and you’re meeting another family where someone has died from gambling-related suicide, you are hearing stories that operators were misbehaving and the things that they have gone through.”
2025.2.18 New image released of woman killed 50 years ago
New images have been released of an unidentified woman who was killed 50 years ago when she was struck by a car while walking along a main road.
Locate International, a charity which investigates cold cases of missing and unidentified people, said the woman was struck by one or more vehicles on the A1 near Baldock, Hertfordshire, in the early hours of 18 February 1975.
Despite numerous appeals, her identity has still not been confirmed, but in 2010 police discovered she may have been French and had lived in Paris.
Hertfordshire Police said: “We never completely close unsolved murder or unexplained death cases and any information we receive will be treated with the upmost importance by the Cold Case team.”
When the woman was found on the southbound carriageway of the A1 near the A507 slipway, she was not wearing shoes and her feet were not dirty.
After an appeal in June 2010, which contained a facial reconstruction of the woman, a couple came forward to say they recognised her as a young French woman who had stayed with them in the early 1970s.
David Liversedge had met her in 1972 when she was hitch-hiking on London’s North Circular road during a thunderstorm.
She then went on to stay with David and his wife, Barbara, at their home near Baldock and gave her name as Odile.
She worked making souvenirs at Plug International on an industrial estate in Henlow, Bedfordshire, and would regularly visit Stotfold Social Club. She also had friends in Newquay, Cornwall.
She then went to Cambridge to study at a language school.
Locate International said it had uncovered an article from the Cambridge Evening News on 25 November 1972 which mentions an Odile Ledoux, a 20-year-old French woman studying English in Cambridge, who was not injured in a house fire.
“Since this latest breakthrough we are now actively investigating the name Odile Ledoux in the UK and in France,” a spokesman for Locate International said.
The unidentified woman could regularly be found in the Stotfold Social Club drinking cider
Locate International said a statement from a milkman who had picked up her up shortly before her death said she had appeared scared or worried.
The charity said it also believed she may have come into physical harm at some point in the months building up to her death.
Witness statements also suggest she may have used the name Anne, Anna, or a variation thereof, as well as Odile.
Mark Greenhalgh, Locate International’s CEO, said: ” If she was alive today, she would be in her late 60s to mid-70s, so we are eager for people to come forward before it is too late.”
2025.2.18 More than five child sexual abuse crimes recorded by Leicestershire Police every day
Last year, more than 2,100 such crimes were logged by Leicestershire Police
Thousands of sexual abuse crimes against children were recorded by Leicestershire Police in 2023/24. The force logged 2,137 such offences between April 2023 and the end of March 2024.
This works out as the equivalent of more than five every day of the year. Of those, 653 related to indecent images of children.
Leicestershire Police said it worked closely with partners to “identify, assess and tackle” sexual offences against children. Measures included playing “an active role” in the production of two films to help parents and children spot the signs of online grooming, child safeguarding lead Detective Chief Inspector Jenni Greenway added. All reports of child sexual abuse are taken “extremely seriously”, she said.
2025.2.16 New police pic of terror plot mum in niqab released after complaints of ‘distress’
Farishta Jami was upset the police released a picture of her without her niqab on
A woman found guilty of terror offences has had a second custody image released by police from her local force, showing her wearing a niqab. Her defence barrister had said she was distressed by an earlier image showing her face, according to reports.
Farishta Jami was found guilty of two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorism, after planning to travel with her children to Afghanistan to join the terror group known as Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP). The 36-year-old mother was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday (February 13).
The court heard Jami, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, was planning to travel to Afghanistan “to martyr herself” and had saved £1,200 to pay for one-way flights to Afghanistan for herself and her children. She shared graphic extremist material on social media between September 2022 and January 2024, including videos, documents and images.
She had acted as an administrator for several pro-Daesh groups with more than 700 members, where she shared terrorists’ instructional videos to prove her loyalty to ISKP. Investigations revealed Jami had conducted 22 separate searches for flights to Afghanistan in a two-week period, specifically looking for one-way tickets for herself and her children.
Officers who searched her property discovered hidden SIM cards, cash, several devices and evidence that she had attempted to conceal passports while researching flights to join ISKP.
Further evidence showed Jami had researched weaponry, including gathering information about how to put together and take apart an AK47 rifle. Jami had shared graphic and violent extremist material on social media, posting videos, documents and images, and taken part in multiple group chats and channels that support the so-called Islamic State.
Jami was to have been sentenced on Friday (February 14) and, according to reports, her defence barrister said the initial custody image released by police showing her face caused her distress. On Friday a new custody image of Jami wearing a niqab was released by West Midlands Police.
Jami’s sentencing was adjourned until a later date.
2025.2.16 The paedophile convicted of murdering Sophie Hook, 7, in Llandudno makes new bid to clear his name
Howard Hughes was jailed for the rest of his life for the murder of seven-year-old Sophie Hook
The paedophile convicted of murdering Sophie Hook in Llandudno is making a fresh attempt to overturn his conviction. Howard Hughes, who was handed a life sentence for the murder of seven year old Sophie Hook in 1995, has enlisted a new legal team in a bid to win his freedom.
The 6ft 8in former gardener abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered Sophie before discarding her body in the sea. Now aged 59, Hughes, who is currently incarcerated at HMP Full Sutton, has previously attempted to have his case reviewed in 1998, 2004, and 2017.
They were all rejected by the Criminal Case Review Commission due to the lack of any real prospect of overturning the verdict. Hughes’s new legal representatives are scouring the files from his 1996 trial for new evidence.
A fresh appeal could cause renewed distress for Sophie’s family, whose mother Julie spoke of their irreplaceable loss: “Sophie was, and always will be, to us a vivacious, fun-loving, extremely popular, beautiful, intelligent child. No child could have received or given more love to us.”
Sophie, hailing from Great Budworth, Cheshire, was abducted while sleeping in a tent during a kids’ sleepover in her uncle’s backyard in Llandudno, on July 30, 1995. The perpetrator, known by his nickname ‘Mad Howard’, had been lurking and eavesdropping on the children earlier that day, reports the Mirror.
His nefarious activities continued as he leered at young girls around Llandudno before attempting to kidnap another child who fortunately escaped. Hours after the children settled for the night, he snatched Sophie as she slept.
Her body was tragically discovered the next morning on Llandudno beach.
The culprit, originating from Colwyn Bay, was no stranger to law enforcement with prior allegations of sexual offences against children. He was apprehended shortly after the crime and confessed to his father, “I did it, dad, I must tell somebody. I have been sexually frustrated since 1990.”
At trial, despite his defence pointing out the lack of forensic evidence due to the probability of seawater washing it away, he was convicted.
Upon sentencing him to life imprisonment, Judge Richard Curtis condemned him with the words: “You are a fiend. Your crimes are every parent’s worst nightmare. My recommendation is that you are never, never, ever released. Take him down.”
Hughes was informed that he must serve a minimum of 50 years.
2025.2.15 Women most likely to be killed by current or ex partner, new data reveals
Male homicide victims were most likely to be killed by a friend or stranger
Female homicide victims were most commonly killed by their current or former partner last year, new data has revealed. Figures have also shown that men’s lives were mostly taken by a friend, acquaintance or stranger.
The Home Office figures, analysed by the Reach Data Unit, show there were 570 victims of homicide nationally in the year ending March 2024 – that’s three per cent lower than the previous year’s total of 585 and the lowest number since 2016.
That includes nine homicides recorded by Leicestershire Police. That was driven by a 10 per cent fall in the number of female victims, from 173 in the year ending March 2023 to 156 last year, while the number of male victims remained similar, increasing slightly from 412 to 414.
Almost three-quarters of homicide victims were male (73 per cent), and around a quarter were female (27 per cent). Last year more than a third of female homicide victims were suspected to have been killed by their partner or ex (37 per cent).
In cases where a suspect had been identified, that was by far the most common relationship between female victims and their suspected killer. The next most common suspect was a parent (11 per cent), and then a son or daughter, (six per cent). Only four per cent of female victims were thought to have been killed by a stranger.
Among male victims, however, only two per cent were suspected to have been killed by a partner or ex-partner. Male victims were most likely to have been killed by a friend or acquaintance (23 per cent) or a stranger (20 per cent).
POLICE in Warrington are searching for three women shoplifters who stole perfume and fake tan worth more than £1,600 from Boots.
A CCTV image has been issued by Warrington Police following the large-scale theft last month.
The women can be seen with bags and baskets in the high street store in the Golden Square shopping centre on Saturday January 18.
According to the Town Centre Beat offices, the value of the self-tan and fragrances stolen was approximately £1,600 worth. Two of the women had their hair tied back in a ponytail and the other had her hair down and was wearing a North Face branded black gilet.
2025.2.14 Video shows terrifying moment sex offender follows woman after night out before attempted rape
Chilling CCTV footage shows how a sex offender stalked a woman in the street, before trying to rape her.
Video (click to play above) shows how pervert, Paul Jinks, followed a woman as she walked home from a night out in in July 2024. During the terrifying attack, Jinks grabbed her from behind and put his hand over her mouth, telling her not to shout.
The woman – seen in the above clip – attempted to break free and fight him but fell on the floor. Jinks then picked her up and dragged her backwards to a secluded grassy area where he hit her in the face and sexually assaulted her before attempting to rape her.
The woman’s cries for help were heard by the residents of a nearby house who yelled at Jinks to leave her alone and ran out on to the street to help.
Jinks then fled the scene, running through a nearby garden as he escaped. The homeowner called police after seeing him on their property. Officers attended the scene and found blood stains on a broken bin Jinks had climbed on as he ran away.
CCTV footage from the area showed Jinks had followed the woman for some time before the attack. He was also seen following at least two other women before the incident.
The blood was tested and found to belong to Paul Jinks, who was believed to be living in the Cambridgeshire area on a traveller’s encampment. Officers in Cambridgeshire were asked to help with arrest attempts and the 21-year-old was arrested on 24 July, ten days after the attack.
He was subsequently charged with attempted rape. Jinks, of no fixed address, admitted the offence and appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentence on February 7 when he was jailed for eight years and nine months with an extended licence period of six years. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
In a victim impact statement, the woman described the effect the incident has had on her: “Since this has happened I don’t feel like I will ever be able to go out on my own again, at least not anytime soon.
“I feel like I would be terrified doing this and constantly looking behind my shoulder wondering who may appear behind me. I have heard about these things happening but I never thought that this would happen to me.”
Detective Constable Esther Hodson, who led the investigation, said: “This was a truly horrifying incident where Jinks saw this woman, followed her and waited for his moment to attack her.
“She bravely tried to fight him off and thankfully when her screams were heard by people living nearby, Jinks was stopped in the act and fled the area.
“He is clearly a very dangerous individual who poses a real threat to women so I’m glad that he is now off the streets and behind bars.
“I’d like to praise the woman’s incredible strength and courage throughout this case. The description and evidence she provided helped us to quickly identify Jinks and then get him locked up and she has shown exemplary bravery since this awful night.
“In addition, I’d like to thank the local community for their help with this investigation as well as the members of the public who intervened and helped on the night.
“We received huge amounts of CCTV from businesses and homeowners in the days following this incident, all of which have been crucial in helping us to build the case against Jinks and making sure he is sent to prison where he belongs.”
“Derbyshire police shared the following advice for anyone affected by sexual violence: “There is a Rape and Sexual Assault reporting tool to our website. Here you can report something that’s happened to you, or to someone else.
2025.2.7 Homicide rate in South Yorkshire among highest in England and Wales
South Yorkshire has one of the highest homicide rates in England and Wales, new figures show.
It comes as police forces across the two countries recorded the lowest annual number of homicides since 2016-17, excluding 2020-21, which was affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Office for National Statistics figures show South Yorkshire Police recorded 18 homicide victims in the year to March – down from 20 the year before.
It meant there were 14.2 victims per million residents over the last three years, which was one of the highest rates in the two countries.
Cleveland had the highest rate at 17.9 per million people, while Cheshire had the lowest at three.
Nationally, the number of victims fell by three per cent from 585 to 570 last year, with a rate of 9.5 homicides per million people.
Excluding 2020-21, it was the lowest number since 2016-17, when 538 homicide victims were recorded.
Homicide figures include murder, manslaughter and infanticide incidents. One incident can have multiple victims.
Police forces in England and Wales recorded 262 homicides using a sharp instrument in the year to March, which was by far the most common method.
Teenage victims were far more likely to be killed by a knife or a sharp instrument (83% of homicides) than victims of all ages (46%).
The figures also show a black person was more than four times more likely to be killed by homicide than a white person.
2025.2.6 Eight in 10 teenage homicide victims ‘killed by knife or sharp instrument’
Some 64 homicide victims aged 13 to 19 were recorded in 2023/24, 53 of whom – 83% – were killed by a sharp instrument.
Around eight in 10 teenage homicides in England and Wales involve a knife or sharp instrument – a far higher proportion than across the population as a whole, new figures reveal.
Some 64 homicide victims aged 13 to 19 were recorded in 2023/24, 53 of whom – 83% – were killed by a sharp instrument.
By contrast, fewer than half – 46% – of all homicides in England and Wales in this period involved a knife or similar weapon.
The data, which has been published by the Office of National Statistics, comes just days after 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose was stabbed to death at school in Sheffield on Monday in what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described as a “horrific and senseless” incident.
In the wake of the Southport murders in July 2024, the Government announced stricter age verification checks for people buying knives online, while a ban on owning zombie-style knives and machetes came into force last September.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has told The Times that a ban on kitchen knives with a pointed end, being advocated by actor and campaigner Idris Elba, was also being considered in a bid to tackle knife crime.
The percentage of teenage homicides in England and Wales where the method of killing is a sharp instrument has been on an upwards trend over the past decade, from a low of 56% in 2013/14 to the latest figure of 83%.
2025.2.6 The Metropolitan Police has seized more than 1,000 stolen phones from mobile phone snatchers in a week in a crackdown.
The fightback against the phone theft epidemic saw 230 people arrested, and comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper chairs a summit later on Thursday on smartphone theft.
The force targeted those involved in stealing, handling and supplying stolen phones in a week of “co-ordinated activity” across London in a bid to disrupt the “£50 million-a-year trade in stolen phones”.
Hotspots include the West End and Westminster, with officers saying they had already increased patrols and “plain-clothed operations” in those areas.
Commander Owain Richards, leading the Met’s response to phone thefts, said: “We are seeing phone thefts on an industrial scale, fuelled by criminals making millions by being able to easily sell on stolen devices either here or abroad.”
Phone-tracking data and intelligence is being used to trace people using stolen devices.
Last year four members of a gang were sentenced to “a combined 18 years” after handling more than 5,000 stolen phones, the force said.
2025.2.6 Merseyside Police
Two men jailed following rape in Liverpool city centre
Two men have today, Thursday 6 February, been jailed for raping a woman in Liverpool city centre.
The charges relate to an incident in the early hours of 20 April 2024 in which a woman was raped inside a property.
The woman reported the matter and within a matter of hours officers were able to identify the offence location and arrest both men.
Whilst on bail, the mobile phones of the suspects were downloaded and intimate videos of the woman were found on the devices of both men, which appear to have been made without her knowledge.
Both men denied the allegations but following a trial in January, Shuaib Iboko-Akoh, 24, formerly of Harrington Street, Liverpool and Evaristus Ozumizi Akerele, 25, from Luton, were both found guilty of rape and voyeurism.
Today at Liverpool Crown Court they were both jailed for a total of seven years. They were also both ordered to sign the sex offender’s register for life.
Detective Inspector Carla Cross said: “These two men are now behind bars for a considerable period of time as a result of their despicable actions on that night.
“Both pleaded not guilty to the offences which meant the woman had to give evidence during the trial and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to her bravery, dignity and composure throughout.
2025.2.5 South Wales Police
Hertfordshire man running Swansea drug line jailed
A man from Hertfordshire has been jailed after running a county lines-style drug line in the Swansea area.
36-year-old Omar Gul was stopped by officers and found to be in possession of approximately 60 wraps containing what appeared to be a mix of crack cocaine and heroin.
He also had two mobile phones in his possession, with one being highly active in receiving calls.
He has been sentenced to six years in prison for possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
2025.2.4 Lucy Letby convictions branded ‘one of major injustices of modern times’
Letby is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others
The convictions of child serial killer Lucy Letby have been branded “one of the major injustices of modern times” as her legal team continued its campaign protesting her innocence. Her case will be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, after Letby’s lawyers made an application to the body on Monday.
Letby, 35, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016. The babies were attacked by various means while the defendant worked as a nurse on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
One such method was injecting air into the bloodstream which caused an air embolism that blocked the blood supply and led to sudden and unexpected collapses. At a press conference on Tuesday, MP Sir David Davis described her convictions as “one of the major injustices of modern times”.
Retired medic Dr Shoo Lee, who co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babies, then presented the findings of a panel of 14 experts who said they had compiled an “impartial evidence-based report”. He told the press conference that the panel’s thoughts were with the families of the babies who died.
“We understand their stress and their anguish, and our work is not meant to cause more distress,” he said. “Rather, it is meant to give them comfort and assurance in knowing the truth about what really happened.
“We know that they want to know the truth and that is why we are here to tell the truth. Should they have any queries or concerns, we’d be pleased to discuss them with them.”
2025.2.4 Police probe Doncaster link to Thai woman’s 2004 death
Police are probing a Doncaster link to the death of a Thai woman whose body was found in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004.
Lamduan Armitage, 36, remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the Hills after being found in a stream near Pen-y-ghent 21 years ago.
Police confirmed her husband, David Armitage, 61, who was earlier arrested on suspicion of her murder, had been released on conditional bail.
North Yorkshire Police said they wanted to speak to people who knew Mrs Armitage and her family when they lived in Sprotborough and also in Preston, Lancashire, between March and October 2004.
Mrs Armitage remained unidentified for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and came forward.
Mr Armitage, who had lived in Thailand since her death, was arrested when he returned to the UK after the Thai authorities revoked his resident visa.
Mrs Armitage, nee Seekanya, became known as the Lady of the Hills during attempts to identify her after her body was found on 20 September 2004.
A post-mortem examination established she had died between one and three weeks before her body was found, but it could not determine how she died.
There was no sign of violence and hypothermia was ruled out, but detectives could not answer two main questions; who she was or how she met her death.
A cold case review was started in 2016 and scientific advances meant police were able to piece together a more detailed picture of who she was and concluded she had been killed.
Three years later there was a major breakthrough when a Thai family read about the case and believed the woman could be their daughter who vanished in 2004.
This led North Yorkshire Police to carry out DNA testing to confirm her identity.
Inquiries established she had moved to the UK in 1991 with Mr Armitage after they were married in Thailand and they had been living in northern England before her death.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “The 61-year-old man arrested on Saturday on suspicion of the murder of Lamduan Armitage in 2004 has been released on conditional bail while police enquiries continue.”
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “The 61-year-old man arrested on Saturday (1 February 2025) on suspicion of the murder of Lamduan Armitage in 2004 has been released on conditional bail while police enquiries continue.
“We again strongly urge the media and public to refrain from speculation about the case to ensure fair justice can be delivered in line with the Contempt of Court Act 1981.
Investigators are continuing to appeal for information about the case and to build a clear picture of Lamduan’s life in the UK before her death.
In particular, we are urging people to come forward who may have got to know Lamduan and her family when – between March to early October 2004 following her death – they lived in:
the village of Sprotborough near Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Preston, Lancashire
2025.2.1 Nottingham Courts News – Locked up in January: Guns, burglary, fighting, drugs and much more
The nine-strong burglary gang
A burglary gang which broke into properties in Nottinghamshire and beyond to steal £300,000 of high-value cars was jailed for a combined total of more than 35 years.
The group mainly targeted larger detached homes across the region mostly in the middle of the night when the occupants were asleep. Over 24 burglaries, in just four months, they took brands such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi and sometimes other cars which would be used in further offending.
Nottingham Crown Court heard how one victim was 38 weeks pregnant at the time her home was targeted and was in with her husband and two other children when the burglars struck. And the areas which were hit included Nottingham city centre, Mapperley, Woodthorpe, Ruddington, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent and Cotgrave.
Sentencing the nine-strong group, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC said: “This was about money. This was about stealing expensive cars from large houses.
“You had knives, you had masks, you had all the equipment to snap locks to get in. It was also about helping yourselves to other people’s property.
“The value of what you took was just under £300,001. £29,000 of (other) property was also taken, including jewellery which belonged to family members.
“What you stole and can’t be replaced most of all is those people feeling safe in their houses again. Just imagine if someone broke into your home while your children or parents were asleep upstairs. You would be the first in the queue to complain.”
The two-day sentencing hearing was told how the gang used what prosecutor Gareth Gimson called a “snap lock” technique utilising tools to break front or patio door handles and get inside the properties before finding keys and stealing the vehicles. Mr Gimson said the conspiracy ran between 2020 and 2021 and spawned two dedicated Nottinghamshire police investigations called Operation Terrestrial and Operation Pavlolva.
He said the group’s offending began in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, before heading more locally, in streets including Clumber Drive, Radcliffe; Ebenezer Street, Ilkeston; Wood View, Cotgrave and Wychwood Road, Bingham. Mr Gimson said in one night on November 26, 2020, addresses in Covert Crescent and Cliff Way, Radcliffe, as well as an address in Brookside Road, Ruddington. The defendants all pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted burglary and theft.
They were:
Cameron Mickle, 27, of Hoe View Road, Cropwell Bishop. He was jailed for two years and eight months.
Jamie Bentley, 34, of HMP Nottingham. The judge handed him a six years and four month sentence.
Declan Russell, 25, of HMP Five Wells. He was sent to prison for six years and two months.
Aynsley Rayner, 31, of Hoe View Road, Cropwell Bishop. The judge handed her a two-year term, suspended for two years. She admitted assisting an offender.
Cory Heald, 21, of Oxclose Lane, Arnold. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.
Jordan Chaplin, 23, of Nottingham Road, Nottingham.The judge handed him a three years and five months term.
Dylan Stone, 22, of Manor Road, Eastwood. He was handed a prison term of five years and 10 months.
Reece Stephens, 23, of Norwell Place, Top Valley. The judge jailed him for two years and eight months.
Benjamin Wild, 25, of HMP Five Wells, who was also sentenced for charges of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, possession of cocaine and cannabis and possession of criminal property which post-date the burglary conspiracy. He was handed a sentence of six years and two months.
2025.2.1 Thug who stabbed cousin, ‘worst’ dangerous driver and suspect who thought police were doing Devil’s work jailed in January
Judges said crimes were so serious they put offenders behind bars
A thug who stabbed his cousin, another who thought police were doing “the Devil’s work” and a ram raider were among offenders locked up in January.
There was also a man who falsely said he had contagious hepatitis, the “worst” dangerous driver and three South Americans who followed a couple in their chauffeur driven car from Manchester Airport to their Wrexham home.
Judges felt their crimes were so serious they had to be sent to jail straight away.
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