Daughter's plea over mother's death

By Thelma Etim
BBC News, Dorset

Heather Barnett, whose body was found by her children

Five years ago a brother and sister arrived home from school to find their mother's body on the bathroom floor.

She had been stabbed repeatedly, attacked with a hammer-like weapon and then mutilated.

The woman was seamstress Heather Barnett and the grisly discovery changed the lives of her son Terry and daughter Caitlin forever.

To date, only Terry, aged 14 at the time of his mother's death, had spoken publicly about the horrific scene they were confronted with on 12 November 2002.

But, in the hope of provoking action from the public, Caitlin, now 16 and a college student living in Poole, has broken her silence.

"Everyone believes that his or her mum is the best and my mum was," she said.

"She was loved by everyone who knew her and always put us first in everything she did.

The day when I came home from school was the most earth-shattering day of my life and the memories will live with me forever Caitlin Barnett Hair tests 'link' to murderer

"The day when I came home from school was the most earth-shattering day of my life and the memories will live with me forever.

"I think about her every day and miss her so much."

Capstone Road in Charminster, Bournemouth - home to a mixture of families and students - mirrors any other ordinary leafy suburban English road, with its tended front gardens, driveways and the occasional neglected property.

But the brutal murder of the 48-year-old now distinguishes it as the street where a devoted, hardworking, feisty but fun-loving mother, from Sturminster Newton, was cut down in the prime of her life.

Before fleeing her ground floor flat, the killer placed clumps of someone else's hair in the palms of Ms Barnett's hands.

Heather was "feisty" but "fun-loving" as a young girl

This freakish behaviour could assist Dorset Police in helping to reveal the killer because of a research technique only recently applied to forensic science in the UK.

Already, the technique - carried out by an expert from the University of Reading - has revealed the hair's owner was a UK resident who changed their diet twice and travelled to the USA, Spain and southern France before the hair was cut.

"It is so important we identify the origin of that hair - the hair is the link we need," said Det Supt Mark Cooper, who is leading the investigation.

The complexity of this macabre case, with its twist and turns, has left Det Supt Cooper's investigative team continuing to probe numerous lines of inquiry.

There have also been two appeals on the BBC One Crimewatch programme - the first in September 2006, which attracted 485 calls and the second, which was broadcast the following month.

Police have also been investigating whether there was a possible "hair fetish" link between Ms Barnett's murder and the disappearance of a 16-year-old Italian girl, Elisa Claps, from the southern Italian town of Potenza in 1993. Her body has never been found.

A bloody footprint from a rare Nike trainer was found at the scene

On the fifth anniversary of Ms Barnett's murder, a Dorset detective will appeal for any information on the Italian version of Crimewatch.

A bloody footprint discovered in Ms Barnett's flat also led detectives to travel to the world headquarters of the Nike company in Portland, Oregon, USA to identify a Nike "Terra Part" training shoe.

Officers also continue to hunt for a man captured on CCTV crossing the road near Ms Barnett's home on the day she was killed.

Finally, a key ring belonging to Ms Barnett, known as "Bunny", is still missing.

Five years on and her son, Terry, now 19, still lives in Charminster but with his father, David Marsh.

He has grown into the kind of young man any mother would be proud of - composed, focused and self-confident but, not surprisingly, wary of strangers.

Intelligent but self-effacing, Terry is already exhibiting some of his mother's entrepreneurial skills by striking out on his own and starting his own business just like her.

Heather Barnett's key ring is still missing

However, not a day goes by when he does not think about her.

"What happened then is a lifetime away but I do think about my mother everyday," he said.

On Monday, Caitlin appealed: "Nothing anyone can do can bring my mum back to my brother and I but I want the public to help the police to catch the person who did this to her and stop it happening to anyone else and hurting another family.

"The police have been testing the hair found in mum's hands and I want people to stop and think about this and if you know any information at all no matter how small or insignificant you think this may be then this could be the important vital clue that helps solve this crime.

"So please, please, think back to that day and if you know anything get in touch with the police."

If you have any information contact the Dorset Police on 01202 222 500.