Murder probe into architect’s death

LANDSCAPE architect Joanna Yeates, who was found dead on a grass verge on Christmas morning, was strangled, police revealed yesterday.

The 25-year-old died as a result of “compression of the neck” and Avon and Somerset Police has launched a murder inquiry.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones said he believed Yeates’ body had been dumped in Longwood Lane, Failand, North Somerset “several days” earlier.

The officer said a number of lines of inquiry were being pursued, including the possibility there was a sexual motive behind her killing or that the graduate knew her killer.

Police are also keeping an “open mind” over whether Yeates had been held captive or had been killed where she was found.

Jones said Yeates’ boyfriend Greg Reardon, who reported her missing on Sunday night after returning home from a weekend away in Sheffield visiting family, was being treated as a witness not as a suspect.

“The investigation into the death of 25-year-old Joanna Yeates is now a murder investigation and I am leading that murder investigation,” Jones said.

“As you know, the postmortem examination has taken longer than usual, because of the frozen condition of her body. The pathologist completed his examination last night and concluded that the cause of her death was compression of the neck — in other words, strangulation.”

The landscape architect had been missing for eight days when her clothed body was discovered by a couple walking their dogs close to the Bristol and Clifton Golf Club — about three miles from her home.

“I am keen to hear from anybody who saw or heard anything or anyone acting suspiciously in the Longwood Lane area particularly the area near to the entrance of Durnford Quarry over the last week but in particular the weekend of Friday December 17 to Sunday December 19 — this was the weekend when we experienced heavy snow in the area,” Jones said.

Forensic officers were today continuing the meticulous search of the Failand area and police were also examining Yeates’ flat in Canynge Road for signs of a struggle.