Hayley police probe fresh leads

Police have flown to Portugal

Police are following leads in both Portugal and the UK in the hunt for the killer of a pregnant woman.

Hayley Richards, 23, was found with her throat cut at her home in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on Saturday.

Forensic teams are examining the house where she was discovered and the murder weapon has still not been found.

Detectives investigating the murder have flown to Portugal to join the search for her boyfriend, Hugo Quintas, who is the prime suspect.

On Tuesday, Hayley's mother, Christine, visited her dead daughter's house to view some 30 floral tributes placed on the lawn.

'Rest in peace'

One of the tributes read: "We never got the chance to say goodbye, nor the chance to say hello to your child.

"May you both rest in peace."

Police have admitted that they missed a chance to seize Mr Quintas in the days before the killing.

Less than a week before her death, Ms Roberts, who was three months pregnant, had dialled 999 to report she had been attacked by Mr Quintas.

Wiltshire's Assistant Chief Constable Peter Vaughan said two potential opportunities for officers to arrest him had not been taken.

"This is a cause of concern which requires further investigation," he said.

There had been allegations that Mr Quintas had not been apprehended because of the need to obtain a Portuguese interpreter.

International manhunt

But Mr Vaughan said: "That should never be a bar to an arrest, there is a list of interpreters that are available in our custody suites."

The matter has been voluntarily referred to the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Police believe that on the day Ms Richards' body was found, Mr Quintas caught a plane from Bristol airport to return to Portugal.

The case has prompted an international manhunt with officers in Wiltshire working with colleagues in Portugal and Interpol.

A police spokesman said on Tuesday: "The investigation into the tragic death of Hayley Richard is continuing with us following a number of sensitive lines of inquiry both here and in Portugal.

"It is not possible to release any further information at this time."