VIDEO Detectives investigating the murder of Anneli Alderton have received at least 60 calls from the public after releasing CCTV footage showing her on a train.

By Richard Smith

DETECTIVES investigating the murder of Anneli Alderton have received at least 60 calls from the public after releasing CCTV footage showing her on a train.

They are now closer to piecing together a timeline of the last movements of the 24-year-old, who was three months pregnant when she was strangled.

They are confident that Miss Alderton got off the 5.53pm train from Harwich to Colchester at Manningtree station at about 6.15pm on December 3.

It is believed she then caught the 6.43pm train to Ipswich, where she worked as a prostitute.

Last night, exactly two weeks after Miss Alderton had travelled the route, officers went on the same journey at the same time in a bid to glean more information from members of the public on the trains.

They were also on the platforms at Dovercourt, Manningtree, Colchester and Ipswich stations, asking people if they had seen Miss Alderton on that day.

The startlingly clear CCTV footage was taken of Miss Alderton on the train from Harwich and shows for the first time what she was wearing.

Police now want the public to study the images so they can help them find her clothing, which may hold vital clues to the identity of her killer.

It is believed the footage it is one of the last sightings of Miss Alderton, from Colchester, before she was murdered. Her naked body was found in woodland near Nacton on the afternoon of December 10.

Suffolk police have confirmed that Miss Alderton was in the first three months of her pregnancy, but they do not think her condition was relevant to the investigation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, who is heading up the massive inquiry, said: “The images show Anneli in a carriage and, for the first time, give us a clear indication of what she was wearing on December 3.

“The images show that she had her hair scraped back, and tied up into a pony tail high on her head.

“They also show her clothing. On that evening, Anneli was wearing a black jacket with a hood with fur round it. Underneath the jacket she was wearing a grey top.

“Anneli was also wearing blue jeans and white footwear and she was carrying a shiny nylon shoulder bag which is closed with a cord.

“We now need to piece together Anneli's movements after this image was captured.”

He added: “Once again, the public have responded positively to our appeals - and we are now confident that we can begin piecing together the jigsaw of Anneli's last movements.

“However, we still need to know where she was after the evening of December 3 and we need to find the clothing she was wearing in the CCTV footage.”

So far, more than 180 calls have been logged from the public with information on discarded clothing and this is being analysed by a dedicated team of officers.

Det Chief Supt Gull said: “We are in the process of recovering and analysing these items of clothing and I would like to thank those people who have rung us so far.

“Clearly, we are interested in hearing from anyone who finds clothing matching the descriptions we have given.”

richard.smith@eadt.co.uk