Schoolgirl's killer 'may have had accomplice'

MORE than one person could have been involved in the murder of 12-year-old Katrina Monk, police believe.

Detectives say the schoolgirl was not killed in the alley where her body was found. They think one person may have found it difficult to move the 11-stone youngster without help.

'It is a possibility that there may have been more than one person involved,' a police spokesman said. Officers have received between 150 and 200 calls from members of the public offering information.

Detective Superintendent Doug Harvey said the girl's body, found 50 yards from her home in Enfield, north London, on Friday, was bound. Her hands were tied in front of her and a plastic supermarket bag taped over her head. She was asphyxiated, possibly by a hand pressed around her mouth and neck. Officers do not believe there was a sexual motive.

Katrina's mother, Valerie Gaughan, 37, urged neighbours to search their memories. 'It does not matter how small or how trivial you think something you may have seen might be. Please tell the police,' Mrs Gaughan said.

'The person who did this not only killed my little daughter, but her grandmother, aunt, her brothers, father and me. We will never get over this.'