Police examine sex murder link

WILL BENNETT

A woman who was sexually assaulted and strangled before her body was left by a moorland road in Lancashire was yesterday identified as Angela Heys, 33, from nearby Bolton.

Lancashire police are liaising with other forces to see whether the death of Miss Heys has similarities to other murders, such as that of Celine Figard, whose naked body was found in a lay-by near Worcester earlier this month after she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

However, detectives do not believe that Miss Heys was the victim of a serial killer.

A cyclist discovered the body of Miss Heys, who was wearing only a bra and pants, behind a wall off the A666 at Egerton, near Bolton on Sunday morning. Police believe that she had been there for several days.

Miss Heys, the mother of a 15-year-old girl, lived in a bedsit in a terraced house in Bolton. She had a drink problem, was taking tablets to counteract depression and last year attempted to commit suicide by slashing her wrists after a row with her boyfriend.

John Harrison, a neighbour, said: "She was out of work and very depressed. She couldn't work because she had a bad leg from a car accident years ago."

As well as pursuing a link to the Celine Figard murder, Lancashire police are liaising with Greater Manchester police who are investigating the murders of Louise Sellars, a schoolgirl from Wigan, and Maria Requena, a Manchester prostitute. They are also contacting Merseyside officers looking for the murderer of Julie Finley, 23, whose naked body was found at Rainford, near Skelmersdale.