July 24, 2018 4.24 pm This story is over 68 months old

Police looking for potential Scunthorpe murder witness

The woman is ‘not a suspect’
Four police cars, including one around the corner, were at the scene and police tape was around a property on Cliff Gardens.

Humberside Police are trying to locate a potential female witness and a distinctive coloured child’s rucksack in relation to their enquiries into the alleged murder of 51-year-old Raymond Ward.

As previously reported, Raymond Ward’s body was found in a disused building on Cliff Gardens in Scunthorpe earlier this month and police believe it was a targeted attack.

A post-mortem found the victim suffered a physical attack and was fatally injured.

A woman who was in the area at the time could be an important witness and police are keen to speak to her as part of their enquiry.

The woman was walking along Oswald Road towards Scunthorpe town centre at around 9.15am on July 9.

She is described as having dark shoulder length hair and she was wearing black trousers, a black top, white footwear, a grey cardigan and had a dark coloured handbag.

Police also said that the below distinctive orange-coloured child’s rucksack with yellow and blue flowers on it may have been dumped or hidden by someone in Scunthorpe.

Police said that this distinctive orange-coloured child’s rucksack may have been dumped or hidden by someone in Scunthorpe. Photo: Humberside Police

‘She is not a suspect’

Detective Chief Inspector at Humberside Police, Christine Calvert, who is leading the enquiry said: “We really want this potential witness to get in touch with us. I want to her to know she is not a suspect but she might have vital information that could be crucial to our enquiry.

“Also the rucksack we are looking for is very brightly coloured and it will stand out. It may have been thrown into a bin, onto waste ground or hidden somewhere. We think that this will have been done in Scunthorpe itself.

“You can call us on 101, or approach one of our officers directly. Quote log 627 of 9 July. If you want to remain anonymous you can always call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. All they want to know is what you know, not who you are.”

Court date

Dion Levi Hendry, 24, of no fixed address was remanded in custody on the charge of murder after hearings at Grimsby and Cleethorpes Magistrates Court (July 16) and Sheffield Crown Court (July 18).

A further case management trial has been set for October 3 at Sheffield Crown Court and a trial date will take place on December 10.