Motive for murder of scientist a mystery

Detectives hunting the killer of the Oxford University scientist Michael Meenaghan believe he could have been killed as a result of mistaken identity.

Despite a painstaking investigation into his private and professional life and the offer of a £10,000 reward for information, officers have failed to find a motive.

Dr Meenaghan, 33, was killed five weeks ago by a gunman who fired a single shot through his kitchen window.

Detective Superintendent David Blair, leading the murder hunt, said there was an incident near the dead man's home on the Blackbird Leys estate, an hour and a half before the shooting, in which a blue car was being driven at speed with a terrified-looking man gripping on to the bonnet. "It cannot be said that this incident is necessarily connected with Dr Meenaghan's murder, but the doctor did own a blue Ford Orion car."

Dr Meenaghan was a research scientist at the Sir Wil-liam Dunn School of Pathology.