Body Exhumed In 30-Year Murder Probe

The body of a suspect in the murder of Teresa De Simone 30 years ago has been exhumed from a graveyard in Portsmouth.

The body was exhumed from Kingston Cemetery in the early hours of this morning.

Hampshire Police said that they were hoping to obtain further DNA evidence to finally establish who was the killer.

This new suspect was identified after the case was re-opened when Sean Hodgson - who had served 27 years for Teresa's murder - had his conviction quashed in March.

The body of Miss De Simone, 22, was found in her Ford Escort parked at the Tom Tackle pub in Southampton, where she worked part-time, on December 5, 1979. She had been raped and murdered.

Miss De Simone was last seen alive in early hours of December 5.

Mr Hodgson, 58, originally from Co Durham, was convicted of the murder in 1982. He had confessed to the crime, but later denied the charge in court. His defence team had argued that he was a pathological liar.

His conviction was quashed in March this year following the re-examination of DNA found at the murder scene, which was proved not to be his.

Police have been examining the original case files, some of which are missing, and taking DNA samples from over 100 people involved in the original investigation.

It is understood that the new suspect was a young man at the time of the murder and did not come from Southampton.

Police have revealed that he had once been in custody on unrelated matters, but had committed suicide in 1988.

They also said that the suspect had made an admission 18 months after Mr Hodgson had been jailed.

(KMcA/BMcc)