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Second street attack linked to student killing

Sophie Goodchild,Fiona Cowood
Sunday 09 February 2003 01:00 GMT

Detectives hunting the killer of the student Marsha McDonnell said yesterday her death could be linked to another attack on a teenage girl close to where the 19-year-old was murdered.

Friends and relatives of Ms McDonnell yesterday paid tribute to the gap year student, who died from three blows to the head early on Tuesday. She was only yards from her family home in Hampton, south-west London.

Murder squad officers said they are now reviewing the case of a young girl who was treated for head injuries in hospital after walking home at 9pm on 8 January. That attack was first treated as an accident but police now believe the girl could have fallen victim to the same attacker.

The police said they were revising their original theory that the girl, who has not been named, had slipped on ice.

"We are reinvestigating," said Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, who is leading the hunt for Ms McDonnell's killer. "We are concerned about the injuries she received. We can't say if they are connected to this matter but we are keeping an open mind. One minute she was walking along, the next she was in hospital with head injuries, and we are looking at the nature of the injuries."

He added that the girl was unable to remember what had happened and was still recovering from her injuries after spending time in hospital.

Police revealed that they had not traced any of the seven male passengers or the driver of the bus that Ms McDonnell caught from Kingston-upon-Thames before walking the last quarter of a mile home. They do not believe she was followed off the bus but have released CCTV footage from cameras on the vehicle in the hope of jogging the memories of fellow passengers.

Detectives are still baffled by the killing on a quiet suburban street despite house-to-house inquiries and a search of the area. "This crime is a complete mystery, we are treating it as a stranger attack," said DCS Cook. "Marsha was of exceptionally good character, from a good family background."

She died in hospital on Wednesday night after her family took the decision to allow doctors to switch off her life support machine. She had been to the cinema and was only yards from her home where she lived with her parents, two sisters and five-year-old brother.

Ms McDonnell's father works in the music industry and the singer Kylie Minogue is among those who have sent flowers to her family. Yesterday, her uncle Shane McDonnell spoke of how her death had devastated those close to her.

"Her mother and father have had their hearts torn to pieces," he said in a statement. "Her sisters Nathalie and Maya are left devastated and bewildered. Her brother Jack, who worshipped the ground Marsha walked on, is left without his best friend."

Mr McDonnell said the family thanked police for their support and were also grateful to staff at Kingston Hospital who looked after Marsha.

Mr McDonnell ended his appeal by saying that he hoped the continued coverage of Marsha's death would lead to an arrest.

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