DEPTFORD: Police hunt the same man they did 33 years ago - Two child murders, just one suspect

11:02am Monday 27th May 2002

THE escaped chief suspect in a 33-year-old murder inquiry is being hunted once again for the ritualistic killing of a five-year-old boy.

The headless torso of a child, who police have named Adam, was found in the Thames, near Deptford, in September last year.

The renewed hunt follows a tip-off from a retired police officer, involved in a similar investigation into the discovery of a butchered baby in 1969.

It is believed the north African father at the centre of the 1960s inquiry fled Britain but the murder had all the hallmarks of Adam's murder according to Detective Inspector Will Reilly.

As top cops from across Europe met at the Hague to further investigate the discovery of the torso near Tower Bridge, Det Insp Reilly said: "We are looking at the 1969 case because of the ritualistic overtones.

"The father was down on his luck and he apparently carried out the killing in order to change that."

It is believed both children were killed as part of a ritualistic or "muti" sacrifice, paid for by a wealthy British resident.

Since the gruesome discovery last September, international forensic experts have been called in to analyse the headless and limbless torso.

At the Europol conference, held on Monday, detectives from around Europe met to discuss the possibility that Adam was the victim of a spate of ritualistic murders across Sweden, Italy and Germany.

Despite the Metropolitan Police's offer of a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Adam's killer, there has been little progress in the investigation into the black child's death.

The aim of the conference is to give detectives, as well as academics, an opportunity to discuss ritualistic crime and the possibility of it spreading to Europe, investigating techniques to combat such crime as well as child trafficking from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe.

Anyone with information they think might help with the investigation, should call the incident room on 020 8853 1212, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.