Inquiry into death of Bristol landscape architect whose body was found on Christmas Day becomes murder investigation
Joanna Yeates, whose body was found by dog walkers in Failton, near Bristol, on Christmas Day, was strangled, police said today.
Detective chief inspector Phil Jones, of Avon and Somerset police, revealed the results of a postmortem examination and said the death of the landscape architect was now officially being treated as murder.
He said Yeates, who disappeared on Friday 17 December, had died as a result of compression of the neck.
Appealing for any information about her murder, he added: "Somebody out there does know what happened to Joanna. They are holding vital information.
"We know some of her last movements. We know how she died ? what we have to do next is find out why she was killed."
Speaking at a press conference, he said police believed her body had been where it was found for several days. He said her parents had formally identified their daughter.
Jones added that the inquiry was in its early stages, and forensic inquiries were still ongoing. He said the body was fully clothed, there were no other significant injuries and that he was open-minded about whether there had been a sexual assault.
He would not say whether Yeates had been killed at the spot where she was found or whether police were investigating if her body may have been kept somewhere else and dumped at the site later.
The 25-year-old had been missing for eight days when her body was discovered on Longwood Lane, close to Bristol and Clifton golf club and about three miles from her home in Clifton.
The frozen condition of her corpse meant pathologists could not immediately examine it, leaving family members with an agonising wait to find out the cause of death.
Her parents, David, 63, and 58-year-old Theresa made an emotional visit to the site where her body was discovered, and laid a bouquet of yellow roses with a picture of their daughter on her graduation day.
They were joined by family members including their son, Chris, and their daughter's boyfriend, Greg Reardon, 27.
Her father said in a statement: "I fear that whoever has done this will never hand themselves in, but we live in hope that the police will catch who is responsible.
"We are sure that the police know more about what happened than they are telling us, but at the moment we are not questioning them because we feel they are doing their best.
"Hearing that Jo had been murdered was not a surprise because we had been told to prepare for the worst. Since hearing about her death, all sorts of things have been running through our minds and we are trying to rationalise what has happened.
"Last week was the worst of our lives, and we are hoping that we will never have to go through anything like this again.
"Things were made just that little bit less terrible when we saw Jo's body yesterday. It was a relief to see her body again ? we just said: 'Welcome back.'"
Jones said Reardon was being treated as a witness, not a suspect. His laptop and mobile phone have been examined by detectives, but officers stressed that this was a routine procedure in such inquiries.
Jones said police were pursuing various lines of inquiry, and forensic investigators have been examining the site since the discovery of the body.
Detectives are also examining CCTV footage from Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol, which is on the main route from Yeates's house to the place where her body was found.
Yeates, who worked with Reardon, was last seen alive on 17 December when CCTV showed her in a Tesco store on her way back to her flat in Canynge Road.
She was making her way home from the Ram pub in Park Street, Bristol, at about 8pm after a night out with work colleagues.
Officers released footage of her buying the pizza, which has become a key part of the investigation.
There was no trace of the pizza, the wrapping or the box at her home, despite the fact that the receipt, the coat she had been wearing and her mobile phone and keys were all inside.
Anyone who can help the investigation should call the incident room on 0845 456 7000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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