9-YR-OLD GIRL STRANGLED IN LORRY BY HER STEPDAD; Trucker is found hanged in woodland.Byline: ROD CHAYTOR A DELIVERY driver strangled stran·gle v. stran·gled, stran·gling, stran·gles v.tr. 1. a. To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle. b. his stepdaughter aged nine in his lorry then killed himself, police said yesterday. The child's body was found in the truck's cabin and the man, 40, was hanging in nearby woods. Officers said he had taken his partner's daughter with him on his delivery round "for a treat" and her mother had waved them off. The girl, thought to have brothers and sisters, had no other obvious physical injuries or signs of sexual abuse - but police said this would remain a line of inquiry. Her body was found on Saturday afternoon in the lorry beside a road near Warmington, Northants. Officers were last night checking nationally to see if the dead man was known to police. Det Chief Insp Tricia Kirk, of the Northamptonshire force, said: "While we have not ruled out the possible involvement of a third party, the evidence strongly suggests it is unlikely that anyone else is involved in the two deaths. "This is a tragic incident for two families and we are working closely with them." Police went to the rural lorry park at about 2pm on Saturday after the HGV HGV (in Britain, formerly) heavy goods vehicle HGV (Brit) n abbr (Hist) (= heavy goods vehicle) → Lkw m company that owns the vehicle said it had not returned to base from its overnight round of delivering groceries. The company located the white Spar lorry, registration BV57 FMC See fixed mobile convergence. , using a GPS system, police said. When officers found it, the cab curtains were drawn and it was unlocked. They found the girl and tried to resuscitate re·sus·ci·tate v. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. her. Searching the area, they found the man hanging by a cord from a tree. The girl and her stepdad are thought to be from the West Midlands West Midlands, former metropolitan county, central England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Birmingham conurbation and comprised seven metropolitan districts: Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Birmingham, Solihull, . Police said they began their journey about 3am on Friday and were seen in Peterborough, Cambs, that afternoon. The mother had been in a serious relationship with the man for about a year. The girl had been in CHIEF the lorry before with him for day-out treats and her mother had no worries about her daughter being with the man, police said.Officers believe the truck was parked late on Friday in the spot where it was found on Saturday. Det Ch Insp Kirk said: "We are not aware of any family arguments. The mother said going in the lorry was a treat for the girl." |
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