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Man charged with Paula Poolton's murder
A work colleague of Paula Poolton has been charged with her murder.
Detectives investigating the 40-year-old's death have charged Roger Kearney with murder.
The 56-year-old, from Painswick Close, Sarisbury Green, appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court today.
Kearney, a post office worker for 34 years, was remanded in custody and did not enter a plea. He's due to appear at Winchester Crown Court on July 7.
His family, including his girlfriend, were in court to see his brief appearance.
Kearney worked with Paula at Southampton Football Club where she was a steward.
Paula's mother, Jenny Cross, 66, was at home in Spring Road, Sarisbury Green, when she got a call from the police at 7.45am today to say he had been charged.
She said: 'It's been a long eight months waiting to hear if anyone was going to be charged.
'One minute I'm full of tears the next I'm full of disbelief.
'There's been a lot of support from people in this area. We haven't been able to move on, we just exist from day to day.
'It's been such a long time and the police have done so much work.
'We have nothing but praise for the police. They have worked so hard.
'Whatever happens we will always remember that they did everything possible.'
The body of Paula, from Course Park Crescent, Titchfield Common, was found in the boot of her Peugeot 206, close to Swanwick Railway Station, on October 28 last year.
She had been missing since October 17 and had suffered seven stab wounds.
The murder charge comes two weeks after police searched a lake in nearby Burridge to search for Paula's missing possessions.
Teams of divers, brought in from Avon and Somerset's force, had been looking for Paula's missing mobile phone, car keys and a flip flop.
Police have also released dozens of CCTV images over the course of the investigation, focusing on Swanwick Railway Station on the night Paula Poolton vanished - October 17 last year.
Officers now believe her car could have been in Duncan Road next to the station from that evening until it was spotted by constables on a routine patrol.
Forty-seven images were initially released in January, and the majority of those people have now come forward.
A further 35 from earlier and later that evening were released on BBC's Crimewatch earlier this month.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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