PORTSMOUTH MURDER: Police search drains for '˜discarded evidence'

POLICE are searching drains in Portsmouth after officers said a woman was murdered over the weekend.
Picture: Ben FishwickPicture: Ben Fishwick
Picture: Ben Fishwick

Detectives have now been granted a further 36 hours to question two women arrested after the killing.

Uniformed police are sifting through drains in Kingston Road, after a woman, 36, was found seriously injured in nearby Toronto Road, Buckland, late on Saturday night.

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A bunch of daffodils have been left outside one address in the road where a uniformed officer stands guard.

Picture: Ben FishwickPicture: Ben Fishwick
Picture: Ben Fishwick

The woman has not yet been formally identified.

‘We are supporting the family of a woman,’ a Hampshire police spokeswoman said.

‘We’re checking for anything in connection with the murder.

‘They’re checking for any discarded evidence that could connect to the murder.’

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Picture: Ben FishwickPicture: Ben Fishwick
Picture: Ben Fishwick

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Scenes of crimes officers are going in and out of the property.

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Residents in Toronto Road remain in shock after the killing.

A 24-year-old woman, who did not wish to be named said: ‘We were in all night. I saw the flashing lights through the door, we saw the police pull up.

‘It’s just tragic really, it’s shocking.’

Pensioner Marian Philpott, lives in Binsteed Road, Buckland. The street’s gardens abut the gardens in Toronto Road.

The 78-year-old said: ‘The police knocked at 1am (on Sunday), I was sitting up watching TV.

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‘He just said “nothing to worry about, don’t get worried, there’s been an incident down that road”.

‘That’s when they asked did I hear anything, did I hear anything in the back gardens, running along the back?’

‘It’s quite shocking.’

Two women are continuing to be questioned over the murder.

A 43-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder, and a 52-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Detective Inspector Simon Baker, said: ‘We are continuing to appeal for anyone who was in the area of Toronto Road on Saturday night who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward and speak to us.

‘If you have any information, no matter how small it may seem, please speak to us and tell us what you know.’

Witnesses or anyone with information should call 101 quoting Operation Senator.