23/08/2005

Rory Blackhall died of suffocation, police reveal

Police investigating the murder of eleven-year-old Scottish schoolboy Rory Blackhall have revealed that he died of suffocation.

Rory’s body was found in woodland in the Livingston area of West Lothian on Sunday afternoon.

He disappeared on Thursday morning, after his mother dropped him off in a lay-by close to Meldrum Primary School.

Detective Inspector Tom Martin told a news conference on Tuesday that a post-mortem had revealed that Rory died of asphyxiation “by means of an item as yet undetermined”.

The eleven-year-old’s body was found, fully clothed, concealed beneath an old green tent. Police said that the tent was “in a poor state of repair” and had the words ‘Outbound Sierra One’ written in white on it.

Police are also trying to find Rory’s school rucksack, which was not at the seen. The bag is described as a navy blue Puma rucksack, which contained a number of items, including a white plastic sandwich box, water bottle, schoolbooks, a clear plastic folder and a camouflage pencil case.

DI Martin also said that police were investigating reports of a number of men, described as “strangers to the area”, who had been seen near the woods where Rory’s body was discovered.

Police have appealed for anyone who saw Rory after he was dropped off for school on Thursday morning to come forward.

Anyone with any information can contact police on: 01506 445650.

(KMcA/GB)




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