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General News of Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Source: ThisIsLondon

Angry Parent Murder Ghanaian Doc?

... Stabbed To Death In Her Car
London -- A Ghanaian paediatrician, living in the Britain, stabbed to death in a frenzied attack outside her suburban home may have been murdered by a patient or their parent, police have said.

Devout Christian Dr Victoria Anyetei's killer is believed to have lain in wait outside her front door - possibly hiding in the back seat of her car - before pouncing as she left for work.

The 53-year -old consultant was stabbed multiple times all over her body as she sat in her Toyota Avensis which was parked in her driveway in the quiet cul-de-sac.

Her blood splattered body lay undiscovered in the front seat of the car - with the door shut - for over two hours and was only found over two hours later by her teenage son when he left the house.

A neighbour in the new built estate in Dartford, Kent, told how he heard 'blood curdling screams' as he made the grim discovery.

He said: "I heard this really loud, anguished yell. I ran outside and saw him on the driveway of his home.

"He was going mad, just staring at his mum's car. Then I saw Victoria. She was behind the wheel with her head rocked back. Blood was everywhere.

"Other neighbours were comforting him, but he was still screaming. It was pandemonium. The blood was all coming out of her neck. She was covered in blood.

"I will never be able to get that image out of my head. It was horrendous." Chief Superintendent Gary Beautridge of Kent Police described the attack on Tuesday morning as a 'truly extraordinary crime'.

He said: "These things hardly ever happen - a middle-aged, professional, well respected, upstanding, devout Christian member of the community attacked in a frenzied way and struck down in broad daylight.

"That is the almost unique challenge facing the murder inquiry team at this stage."

He said officers would be investigating the possibility that she may have been killed by a former patient, or the parent of a former patient, with a grudge against her.

He said: "That particular aspect will be looked at and it will be looked at in some detail.

"It would appear from the evidence we have so far that Dr Anyetei was specifically targeted, quite possibly attacked from behind and suffered multiple stab wounds across her body."

CSI Beautridge said 20 officers were working on the investigation.

He said: "A lot of people are being interviewed at this stage and her car is subject of a full and thorough forensic examination.

"However, no arrest have so far been made."

He said whoever killed the consultant would likely have had been in an agitated state after the attack and have blood on their clothing.

Dr Anyetei has been working in the UK since 1994, and started as a locum consultant paediatrician at St Thomas's Hospital in central London eight months ago.

On Tuesday morning she left for work as usual at 8am to drive to Dartford railway station to take the train into central London.

But police believe she was attacked seconds after leaving the £250,000 end of terrace home that she shared with her 19-year-old son Andrew Thompson and a younger relative.

Forensic officers are still examining the scene for clues and carrying out house to house inquiries. Dr Anyetei was divorced, and her ex husband still lives in Ghana. Several other relatives, including a brother, live in Britain.

Her next door neighbour, Naseem Shah described her as a 'wonderful woman.'

"She was very polite and pleasant. She would always say hello.

"It's terrifying to think this could happen here. It's such a quiet place, there's never any trouble."

Another local said she was deeply religious and would go to church every Sunday.

He said: "She was a doctor who was full of goodness and kindness for others.

"That is what makes this murder so tragic."

Dr Anyetei was divorced and her former husband lives in Ghana.