14/06/2005

Hunt continues in Portugal in Hayley murder inquiry

Police investigating the murder of Hayley Richards have flown to Portugal to help in the search for her ex-boyfriend who left the UK after her death.

Twenty-three-year-old Hayley, who was three months pregnant, was found in her home in Trowbridge, Wiltshire on Saturday. Her throat had been cut.

Less than a week before the murder, Ms Richards had contacted police claiming to have been assaulted by her former boyfriend, Portuguese-born Hugo Quintas.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Vaughan from Wiltshire police admitted that two potential opportunities for officers to arrest Mr Quintas had not been taken.

Ms Richards’ family said that they had been told Mr Quintas would be questioned about the alleged assault, but that his arrest had been delayed because of the need to have an interpreter present.

It has been confirmed that Mr Quintas left on a flight from Bristol airport to return to Portugal on the day that Ms Richards’ body was discovered.

It has not been confirmed whether or not Mr Quintas was the father of Hayley’s unborn child.

Wiltshire police have voluntarily referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

(KMcA/MB)

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Wiltshire Police have been criticised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over the handling of a case which resulted in the murder of a pregnant woman. Hayley Richards,was murdered in her Trowbridge flat by her boyfriend, Hugo Quintas last June. The Portuguese factory worker slit the 23-year-old's throat.
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13 June 2005
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An international manhunt has been launched, after a pregnant woman was found murdered in her own home. The body of Hayley Richards was discovered at her home in Trowbridge, Wiltshire at the weekend. She had last been seen just before midnight on Friday. Police are now searching for Ms Richards’ former boyfriend, Hugo Quintas, who is from Portugal.
17 June 2005
Man remanded in connection with Hayley inquiry
A 29-year-old man has been charged with perverting the course of justice in regard to the Hayley Richards murder. Joaquim Sergio Da Cunha appeared before Chippenham Magistrates' Court today accused of cleaning a house, clothes, and with obstructing a police inquiry. He was remanded in custody to appear at Swindon Crown Court on June 24.
29 March 2006
Man found guilty of murdering pregnant girlfriend
A Portuguese factory worker has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend. Hugo Quintas, 25, murdered Hayley Richards, 23, at her flat in Trowbridge, Wiltshire last June. Bristol Crown Court heard how Quintas slit Ms Richards' throat after she admitted sleeping with another man.