Jenkins murder claim is dismissed

Police have dismissed a claim by the former deputy head teacher Sion Jenkins that a “mystery man” may have murdered his foster daughter Billie-Jo Jenkins.

Mr Jenkins, of Portsmouth, was cleared of murder in 2006. He recently released an e-fit of a man he claims was in his house shortly after he found the body.

But Sussex Police said there was no-one unaccounted for in Mr Jenkins’ Hastings home at the time.

On Monday Mr Jenkins said he had launched a £500,000 compensation claim.

He told BBC News he had made the claim to the government for the six years he spent in prison before being cleared.

‘No investigations’

But a police spokesman said: “We believe we’ve identified to our satisfaction all the people who were at the address. No one is unaccounted for.”

The spokesman said that police would be writing to Mr Jenkins to inform him that they would not be carrying out further investigations into the claim.

Police added that in the absence of “new, significant or compelling” evidence there were no new “viable” lines of inquiry into the murder.

Billie-Jo was found battered to death with an iron tent peg in February 1997.

Mr Jenkins, who was cleared of the murder in 2006, insisted Billie-Jo must have been killed by an intruder while he visited a DIY store.

In 1998 he was convicted at Lewes Crown Court of murdering her and jailed for life but had a retrial in 2005 after successfully appealing.

However, the jury failed to agree a verdict and a second retrial ended the same way in 2006, allowing him to walk free.

From : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7582179.stm