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Police plan mass DNA testing in hunt for east London sex killer
Justin Davenport, Crime Editor8 Jun 2009
Police hunting a sex killer and serial rapist are to launch a mass DNA sweep of men in east London.
Thousands of potential suspects are to be tested in the hunt for the man behind two violent rapes and the murder of 35-year-old Michelle Samaraweera, who was raped and strangled in a small park in Walthamstow.
The DNA trawl of men aged between 30 and 45 is being launched today.
Detectives say the level of violence involved in the attacks has escalated and they are checking dozens of other sex assaults and attacks in east London to see if any further incidents are linked.
The suspect - described as Asian or dark-skinned - choked at least two of his victims and punched both rape victims repeatedly in the face.
One possibility is that he enjoys throttling women during the attacks and may not have intended to murder Ms Samaraweera.
Police have stepped up high-visibility patrols in the area of the assaults around Queens Road and they are warning women to be vigilant.
Detectives have linked the three attacks using DNA and they believe the man may live in the area because of his apparent local knowledge.
Ms Samaraweera, a widow whose husband died of cancer, was raped and strangled on 30 May in a small park on Queen's Road.
Officers are linking the murder to the rape of a 59-year-old woman who was attacked as she entered her home in Queen's Road at 1am on 24 March.
The man forced his way inside and then raped her in her bedroom.
A second attack took place in the nearby South Grove area at 1am on 22 April. The 46-year-old victim was raped near St James' Street station.
Men living in the E17 area will be asked to take part in the voluntary DNA tests so they can be eliminated. If they refuse, they face further investigation.
Detective Superintendent Vic Rae, who is in charge of the inquiry, said: "These woman were subjected to horrendous attacks and they have been left severely traumatised by what happened.
"We are going to be conducting house-to-house inquiries and asking men to take part in the DNA tests. Clearly we have to do everything we can to catch this man sooner rather than later.
"We have extra patrols on the streets and we do urge women in the area to remain vigilant, particularly if walking alone at night."
Mr Rae added: "The DNA test is designed solely to apprehend the individual responsible for Michelle's brutal murder and the two linked sexual assaults. Much consideration and planning has gone into this decision and we feel this is the quickest and most comprehensive way to eliminate men from our investigation.
"Whilst stranger murders and sexual assaults are incredibly rare we have to be mindful of the terrible ordeal these ladies endured. Michelle suffered a terrifying assault and the physical abuse against the other two women was significant.
"All three endured horrendous sexual abuse and it is therefore with the whole community in mind that we work to trace this man."
Ms Samaraweera was unemployed and lived alone in Hainault.
She is said to have been devastated by the death of her husband and had trouble sleeping at night, often going for walks in the early hours.
Her body was discovered in a play area near Kelmscott Leisure Centre at 5.50am and she was last seen alive at 1am the same morning.
Four men have been arrested but all of them have been released. Two men face no further action and two are on police bail.
Anyone with information should call the police on 020 8345 3715 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Reader views (8)
Why has it taken a murder before us women who live in this area have been warned about this lunatic? Was it ok for us to walk around with a serial rapist in our area until he started to kill his victims?
- Mel, Walthamstow, London, 08/06/2009 21:15
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Saying "thousands of potential suspects" makes it sound like a legitimate exercise: in actual fact, if you're a bloke you're potential suspect, and then you have no guarantee that your DNA data was actually deleted if you were innocent. Where's the conventional detect work - or is that too hard to perform?
- Roz, France, 08/06/2009 15:42
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The "nothing to hide" crowd doesn't understand the basic concept of privacy and the right to live a life without being under constant scrutiny by "authorities". When used by Maxine and her ilk, "nothing to hide" implies that one is seeking to shield some sort of illegal conduct.
Maintaining one's privacy is not "hiding."
As for me, if I were to face the choice of further investigation or submitting to DNA tests: investigate away lads! Because in fact I do NOT have anything "to hide" and the police will discover this fact quickly enough.
- Trunk, US, 08/06/2009 15:35
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I suggest that anyone asked to give such a sample refuses, and writes to their MP explaining why. You should know that it WILL be kept on file!
The EU human rights court said that keeping such samples was illegal, but this government has refused to comply with their direction that all such samples be destroyed, and is instead legislating that any sample taken from a suspect (i.e., you!) will be held for seven years (rather than forever).
I wish the Tories would make more of an issue of this. For me, this is a far stronger reason for not voting Labour, than any dodgy expenses claims.
- Nigel, London, 08/06/2009 14:19
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And why shouldn't the DNA be kept on file?
If you have nothing to hide then really, what's the problem?
It will save to police (and taxpayers) time and money in future should something like this happen again.
People should feel safe to go out in their neighbourhood.
- Maxine, London, 08/06/2009 14:06
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what a pity police did not take the first rapes seriously enough, if they had started mass DNA testing in March Michelle Samaraweera would be alive today, as usual rape is treated as little more than a handbag snatch, these sick individuals are highly dangerous and of course the violence esculates! rape is a highly violent act.
- John, derby, 08/06/2009 14:04
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Can we assume that if someone gives a DNA sample and are found not to be linked to these horrenous crimes their DNA will not be kept on record? After all there is no reason to do so.
- Man U Fan, London, 08/06/2009 12:53
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And will these sampled suspects have their DNA stored for future reference? Given the way the police handles our personal profiles I wouldn't see a sign of guilt were any suspect to withhold his/her DNA sample.
The criminal needs to be caught, but I think the police have made their job harder by forcing people to fear co-operation. I think there could be a case for 'common consent' having been withdrawn.
- Lee, Lincolnshire, 08/06/2009 12:50
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