Hair appeal response encouraging

The body of Ms Barnett was found by her children in November 2002

More than 30 people have responded to a police appeal to trace the owner of hair placed in the hand of a woman murdered five years ago.

Heather Barnett, 48, was stabbed and mutilated during a attack at her home in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 2002 but her killer has not been caught.

Police said they were encouraged by the response. They hope the strands of hair could provide new clues in the inquiry.

They are looking for women who had hair cut in "unusual circumstances".

We are hopeful that may lead to identifying Heather's killer Det Sgt Mark Cooper Dorset Police

Det Sgt Mark Cooper, who is leading the investigation, said: "In general, we have had a really positive response and I am really pleased about that.

"We continue to receive new information into the inquiry room and we are hopeful that may lead to identifying Heather's killer."

Police have also been investigating whether there was a "hair fetish" link between Elisa Claps, a 16-year-old who disappeared from a southern Italian town in September 1993, and Heather Barnett's case.

The body of Ms Barnett was discovered by her son, Terry, then 14, and Daughter, Caitlin, who was 11, in her flat in Capstone Road in Charminster on 12 November 2002.

Strand clues

Ms Barnett, from Sturminster Newton, north Dorset, had been hit over the head with a hammer-like weapon before her children returned home from school.

Dr Stuart Black, from University of Reading, examined the 4in (9cm) strands of hair found in Ms Barnett's hands.

His analysis of the strands of hair revealed the owner visited an area between Valencia and Almeria in eastern Spain and or the Marseille to Perpignan area of southern France for up to six days, some eleven weeks before the hair was cut.

They then visited the urban area of Tampa in Florida, southern USA, for eight days some two to two and a half weeks before the hair was cut.

People can call in confidence via a special hotline on 01202 222 500 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.