Suspected murder case is re-opened

Police search an address in 1999

An investigation into the suspected murder of a woman five years ago has been re-opened.

Argentinian-born Gracia Morton, 41, went missing after dropping off her daughter, then four-years-old, at her estranged husband's London address on the morning of 12 November 1997.

Jonathan Morton said his wife had visited and then left without saying where she was going.

She was never seen again and her green Rover 416 car remained parked outside Mr Morton's residence in St Anne's Road, London, W11.

It was out of character for Gracia to go missing

A huge investigation was launched at the time, stretching from London to Stonesfield, near Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, where Mrs Morton was known to stay at her husband's country home.

Both the London address and the Stonesfield cottage were subsequently searched again by police as the case remained unsolved.

No clues were found.

Before she vanished, Mrs Morton was said to be in regular contact with friends and family.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "It is extremely unusual and out of character for Gracia to have gone missing and it is because of this that we believe something more sinister may have happened."

'Still solvable'

Her sister said at the time of Gracia's disappearance that there was no reason to believe she had committed suicide.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, leading the new inquiry, said: "Despite the length of time that has passed since Gracia disappeared we believe this case is still solvable."

"Often when a considerable amount of time has passed between an event and when we re-investigate it, we find that people's allegiances change and people will give new information to the police."

"I would like to re-assure Gracia's family that I understand how desperately they want answers to what has happened and that we are working hard to try and discover who is responsible for her suspected murder."