How girls died remains a mystery
The five-hour examinations proved inconclusive and further tests will be needed over the next few weeks, police said. This means the girls’ funerals cannot be held for some time.
The blow came as police were expected to go before magistrates in Cambridgeshire within the next few hours to seek permission to continue to question Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr about the killings.
Huntley, 28, and 25-year-old Carr were arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday.
Holly’s parents earlier made a brief visit to the Church of St Andrew in their home town of Soham, where the churchyard has been transformed into a sea of flowers left by well-wishers.
It has become the focus of an extraordinary display of grief from around the world and from the townspeople themselves, who have been offered counselling to help them come to terms with the tragedies.
A team from the Rotary Club was at work in the churchyard, furiously scribbling in notebooks to copy down the messages on the bouquets before rain washed the ink away.
They will later be transcribed and made into a book of remembrance for the town and the families.
Parish priest Tim Alban Jones said: “This is a massive outpouring of grief and sympathy. There is not a parent here who has walked away with a dry eye.”
He added, “People have driven two or three hours to get here. It is deeply moving. This has touched hearts up and down the country, friend and stranger alike. It is quite extraordinary.”
Books of condolence were also set up at nearby Ely Cathedral and in other churches across the country. A book has also been opened on the internet. The website, called Soham Tragedy, will also be transcribed into a permanent memorial and can currently be accessed via on the Cambridgeshire Police site at www.cambs.police.uk.
Children and parents struggling to cope with the emotional anguish caused by the deaths received counselling from social workers using special helplines opened yesterday.
The helplines are primarily aimed at people in Holly and Jessica’s home town but have also been receiving calls from around the world.
Team leader Jenny Pardoe said: “Children are saying they feel very frightened and don’t know who they can trust, and a lot of parents are asking how they can talk to their children about what has happened.”
Police said on Sunday night that they were “as certain as we possibly can be” that two bodies discovered near Lakenheath airbase, close to Mildenhall in Suffolk, on Saturday were those of the missing schoolgirls.
It could take several days before the bodies are formally identified.
Flowers have also been left at Lakenheath and police were continuing to search the spot where the bodies were found.
They were also searching the house where Huntley and Carr lived at Soham Village College, nearby St Andrew’s Primary School and Huntley’s parents’ home in the village of Littleport.
Huntley was arrested on suspicion of murder and abduction while Carr is being detained on suspicion of murder. Detectives have said they were still working on other lines of inquiry.
Meanwhile, Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes said the Government was prepared to bring forward further child protection measures, but played down calls for the publication of the Sex Offenders’ Register.
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