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26-08-2005 Scotsman Rory was murdered within 24hrs By Gethin Chamberlain Chief News Correspondent MURDERED schoolboy Rory Blackhall was killed within 24 hours of going missing, police believe. There are suggestions that the 11-year-old may already have been dead by the time the alarm was raised over his disappearance. Police are still waiting for results of forensic tests but they are now understood to be working on the theory that Rory was seized shortly after his mother Michelle dropped him off at a bus stop 300yd from Meldrum Primary school in Livingston - where he was a pupil - on 18 August. A police source said: "It is not yet clear, but it looks like it happened early on." While members of his family have been ruled out of the inquiry, police are still keeping an open mind on who was responsible for the murder. Parents of the dead boy's fellow pupils have been sent letters informing them that police officers may need to question their children and setting out details of how the interviews will be conducted. In the letter, the deputy divisional commander, Harry Waters, told parents that a significant number of specialist officers and detectives have been brought in to work on the inquiry. He wrote: "During the course of the inquiry it may be necessary for officers from the team to interview children in the Livingston area. "Should this prove necessary suitable arrangements will be made with parents or guardians with a view to seeing the children at home." Mr Waters also tried to play down parents' fears for the safety of their own children, insisting that the incidence of violent crime in West Lothian was "comparatively rare". He wrote: "I recognise that many people will now be extremely worried and reluctant to let their children out of their sight and we would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the chances of them becoming a victim of violent crime are very low." The letter also included safety advice for parents. Chief Inspector Jim Thomson, who is liaising with the community, said: "Children are intuitive when it comes to strangers, but unfortunately they sometimes display a fearlessness, often beyond their abilities. They need their parents to give them clear guidance on how to stay safe, and we are doing all we can to support them during this very difficult time." A week after Rory disappeared, police were yesterday continuing to search the woods where his body was found for clues to the identity of his killer, and in the hope of recovering his missing school rucksack. Detective Inspector Tom Martin, one of the officers leading the murder inquiry, said they were pursuing a number of lines of inquiry and claimed that they remained optimistic. He said a blonde woman seen waiting at a bus stop at about the time Rory was dropped off had since been identified and was due to be interviewed by police. He angrily dismissed reports that Rory had been drugged before his death. In an effort to jog the memories of potential witnesses, officers staged a reconstruction of the moment Mrs Blackhall pulled up at the bus stop in her black Vauxhall Meriva and dropped off her son. However, police said they had decided against using another child to play the role of Rory, claiming it might upset the child involved and Rory's schoolfriends. A police spokesman said: "It was felt to be inappropriate to get a young boy to play the role of Rory during the reconstruction because there were obvious concerns about the psychological effect on the boy and on other pupils in the school, some as young as five, who may have been upset by the sight of someone being Rory." Shortly after 8:30am, the car drove along Deans East Road and parked at the bus stop. After stopping for about half a minute, it headed for the roundabout ahead, turned round and headed back the way it had come. While the reconstruction was going on, police in bright yellow jackets were speaking to parents and children using the underpass towards which Rory was walking when he was last seen by his mother, hoping to glean any new details which could help the inquiry. Mr Thomson said police were hoping someone would remember seeing a vehicle of that type dropping a child off at the bus stop last Thursday. He said: "We're looking for people just to tell us if they saw Rory at all, whether or not he was walking away from the school or walking towards school, that's all significant information and we need to know." He made a forceful plea to members of the public to come forward with any information, however trivial they consider it to be. "It is extremely important for them to do so," he said. "People don't want to annoy the police when we are carrying out a murder investigation but what we are saying to them is no matter how insignificant you think that piece of information is, get in touch with us and let us make that decision. "It may be that you hold the vital clue - there is a 76-hour gap between the time that Rory was dropped off at the bus stop and the time when he was found." The boy's body was found covered with a tent in woodland on Sunday afternoon. He had been asphyxiated. Detectives hope to maintain the momentum of the inquiry by putting up new posters around Livingston featuring a new picture of Rory.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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