Chief suspect from 1969 ritual killing linked to torso in Thames inquiry

Detectives investigating the suspected ritualistic killing of a boy whose torso was found in the Thames are hunting for the chief suspect of a murder committed 33 years ago.

In the 1969 killing, the headless torso of a baby girl was found hidden in bushes in Epping Forest, Essex. The main suspect, the father of the black girl, fled the country before he could be arrested.

Scotland Yard believes this murder may be the earliest case of such a ritual killing in Britain and could be linked to their current inquiry, The Independent has learned.

The development comes as police continue to hunt for the killers of an unidentified African boy whose body was discovered near Tower Bridge in east London on 21 September last year. The victim, who is believed to have been aged five or six, died after his throat was cut. His head and limbs were then cut off and a pair of girl's orange shorts were placed on the torso.

Police suspect the boy was kidnapped in Africa and smuggled to Britain for a ritualistic killing. Last month Nelson Mandela appealed to Africans to help the Metropolitan Police solve the gruesome murder.

In a possible breakthrough, detectives are attempting to trace the father of the girl murdered in 1969. The case became known as the Babe in the Woods killing.

The police were told the suspect, who is believed to be from north-west Africa, cut off his daughter's head, legs and arms during a ritual to bring him good luck. The torso was found by a party of schoolchildren hiking near Connaught Water, a beauty spot by the edge of the forest. The head was later found close by. The body was thought to have been in the forest for about two weeks.

Until now the police had thought that the torso in the Thames was a unique example of a ritualistic killing in Britain.

Detective Inspector Will O'Reilly, who is heading the current murder inquiry, said yesterday: "We are looking at the 1969 case because of the ritualistic overtones. It appears that the father killed his child and fled the country.

"A retired police officer told us about the case. We thought that our case was unique, but the 1969 murder appears to have ritualistic elements.

"The father was down on his luck and apparently carried out the killing to change that. We are carrying out further investigations and are trying to trace the father." DI O'Reilly declined to identify the suspect and said that he did not want to alert him to their search.

Attempts by the police to identify the boy dumped in the Thames, who has been called Adam, have attracted worldwide attention. Mr Mandela, the former South African president, spoke at a press conference held by the Metropolitan Police in Johannesburg. The inquiry has also opened up the issue of ritualistic killings.

In a separate development an expert in African rituals, who is helping Scotland Yard's inquiry, said yesterday that he believes a rich British resident probably paid for the boy to be smuggled into the country with an African witchdoctor who was skilled in ritual murder.

Dr Richard Hoskins, a senior lecturer in the study of religions at Bath Spa University College, said: "The manner of the killing was precise and there was some planning. Whoever commissioned this probably got an expert which would have involved paying a lot of money.

"The boy was probably brought up in West Africa and brought here specifically for the purpose of being ritually killed."

Dr Hoskins said he and other experts now believed that the killing was not as previously been thought a muti murder. In these rituals a child is killed and the body parts used by African witchdoctors to make muti or medicinal potions.

Dr Hoskins said that in muti rituals the genitals and internal organs are usually used to make medicine, but in the Thames case they were untouched. He explained: "There are other types of rituals in West Africa where the head and limbs are removed to provide empowerment."

Another possibility is that the killers were followers of obeah, a West African form of witch-craft in which human sacrifices are made, usuallya child. Forensic experts are analysing minerals, pollen and other substances found in the body to find out where the boy came from.

The case has prompted the first ever conference into ritualistic killing which is being held in The Hague on Monday. The conference will hear details of murders in Europe over the last ten years in countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium, France and Sweden.