Wimbledon case man faces court

A man held for questioning over the killing of a woman on Wimbledon Common, south-west London, is to appear before magistrates in London today on unrelated minor offences, Scotland Yard said.

He was freed on police bail pending further inquiries yesterday, as detectives examined one of two knives found near the murder scene. The 30-year-old man, who has not been identified, was questioned for two days after being detained at a housing estate near the common.

Rachel Nickell, 23, who had been walking her dog, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in front of her two-year-old son Alexander in a small copse on Wednesday morning. Her parents, on a driving tour of Canada, are unaware of her death and radio appeals have failed to trace them. Canadian police said it was like 'looking for a needle in a haystack'.