POLICE investigating the death of a mother and her three children in Lowestoft have released a CCTV image of the woman in the hope of retracing her movements.
Detectives said that sightings and CCTV footage suggest she was walking around south and north Lowestoft wearing a light-coloured coat and carrying a teddy bear.
She was later found with severe head injuries in Gordon Road and pronounced dead at the scene.
The discovery led police to an address in London Road South, Lowestoft, where they found the bodies of three children, aged three, two and 11 months - all believed to be the children of the woman.
A post mortem found that her death was caused by severe head injuries consistent with a fall from height. She has not yet been formally identified.
A post mortem on the three-year old female infant recorded the death as “unascertained”, with further tests due to be carried out.
Post mortem exams on the other two children are currently taking place at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Detective superintendent John Brocklebank, of the Norfolk and Suffolk major incident team, said:
“We are conducting a meticulous investigation and need to ensure that we follow investigative procedures correctly to gain a full understand of this tragic set of events.
“As people will appreciate, we are working with families which have suffered a devastating tragedy and elements of the investigation, such as formal identification of all those involved, may take some time.”
Police have released CCTV images of the woman, as they try to piece together her last movements.
A CCTV still taken from London Road South shows her walking up Grosvenor Road towards Kirkley Rise at about 6.15am on Monday.
Approximately five minutes later, witnesses reported the woman briefly attending the Fyffe Centre in Belvedere Road before leaving.
About half-an-hour later, at 6.55am, there is a further sighting of the woman close to the Denes High School on Yarmouth Road, where she was seen walking towards the town centre.
Another CCTV image, timed at about 7.55am, shows the woman entering the multi-storey car park off Gordon Road. Also in the image is a cyclist, who police would like to hear from as he may have information.
Det Supt Brocklebank said: “From the sightings we have received, coupled with CCTV footage, it appears that the woman was walking around both south and north Lowestoft, prior to entering the car park.
“She would have stood out as she was wearing a light-coloured coat and carrying a teddy bear.
“I want to find out exactly where she went during this time period, so we can piece together her final movements.
“I would appeal to people who may have been out and about early on Monday morning to cast their minds back - and if they saw a woman matching this description, or stopped to speak to her, to get in touch.”
Officers have completed their examination of the scene at the car park in Gordon Road, where cordons were lifted last night.
Examinations of the flat in London Road South continue and the cordon is expected to remain in place for at least the next 24 hours.
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