Lorry cab tragedy: Sex abuse probe

Aug 31 2009

Detectives are investigating whether a lorry driver who strangled his nine-year-old stepdaughter before hanging himself had sexually abused the girl.

The girl's body was discovered on Saturday afternoon in the back of the man's lorry, which was parked at a Little Chef on the A605 near Warmington, Northamptonshire.

The 40-year-old man's body was found hanged from a tree in nearby woodland, police said.

The girl, who along with the man, is from the West Midlands, regarded the trip as a "treat", and her mother had no concerns before her tragic death, Detective Chief Inspector Tricia Kirk said.

She went on: "Any death is distressing for police officers, but when it's a child and in such violent circumstances, it's even worse.

"I cannot begin to imagine what the family are going through, and we have family liaison officers with them trying to answer any questions that they may have.

"At the moment, we are treating it as a murder suicide. We believe the little girl was murdered and the man then committed suicide."

Det Chief Insp Kirk added: "We are not aware of any medical conditions and we are not aware of any family arguments. What we are getting back from the mother is that she was happy to go along with it and it was a bit of a treat for her (daughter)."

Police said they were called to the rural lorry park at about 2pm after the HGV company which owns the vehicle said it had not returned to base. The company tracked the white Spar lorry using a GPS system, police said.

When officers found it, the curtains in the cab were drawn and it was unlocked. They tried to resuscitate the girl, but were unable to do so. Sources added that one of the lines of inquiry was whether the man had sexually abused the girl. He was not known to Northamptonshire Police, but detectives are checking whether he was known to other forces.