Police use dummies in reconstruction

Domingas Olivais' body was found in the River Bure

A court has been hearing how police used dummies to try and work out when the body of the asylum seeker Domingas Olivais went into the River Bure at Great Yarmouth.

Her body was found on 28 April last year. She had been strangled.

Her partner, shop cleaner Filomeno Lopes, 35, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 30-year-old Ms Olivais.

On Tuesday, Norwich Crown Court heard from scenes of crime officer Alan Stevens.

He said he collected two specially-made dummies from Lowestoft College in August last year.

Fisherman's calculations

They were around the same weight as the dead woman.

He then put them into the River Bure to see how they moved with the tide.

Mario Siano, a former deep sea fisherman from Great Yarmouth, told the court he had done some calculations for the police.

He said they showed the body had possibly been put into the river at 2300 BST on 27 April.

The case continues.