This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/6218456.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Reward to catch mother's killer | Reward to catch mother's killer |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A £20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the conviction of the killer of a south Wales mother. | |
Beverley Parkhouse, 45, was found dead in a room set on fire in her father's house in Nantymoel in Bridgend county. | |
Police say it is an unusual case. They did not initially treat it as murder, but think she was probably suffocated before the fire was started. | |
Detectives want to trace her silver flip-top mobile phone and lighter, and the owners of cars seen in the area. | |
One man was arrested but has since been released. | |
South Wales Police have set up a mobile police station at the end of her father's road, Cardiff Street, to encourage people who have information to come forward. | |
It came a day before Ms Parkhouse, who was a care worker, would have turned 46. | |
Ms Parkhouse lived in Ogmore Vale but would stay at her father's house several times a week. | Ms Parkhouse lived in Ogmore Vale but would stay at her father's house several times a week. |
On Sunday, 3 September, she went out with friends in Nantymoel to the Top Club before returning to her father's home and going to bed. | |
I firmly believe there must be someone in the community who has information. Det Supt Paul Kemp | |
But when she still had not got up late the following morning, her father went to check on her and found her lying dead in her bed. A fire had been started in the room. | |
As police investigations continued, enough evidence was gathered to suggest she had been murdered. | |
One man came forward and told police he had been with Ms Parkhouse after her father had last seen her. He was questioned and released. | |
Det Supt Paul Kemp said: "This investigation has been running since 4 September. | |
Fire damage | |
"We've gathered lots of information but we haven't caught the person responsible. I firmly believe there must be someone in the community who has information. | |
"This is an unusual case. We are satisfied that Beverley was probably suffocated. I can't speculate about the cause of the fire but I'm confident that the fire was connected to her murder." | |
He appealed for further information about her movements that night from 11.30pm until her body was found the next day at 11.30am. | |
Mr Kemp said the fire had caused significant damage and he could not rule out that vital information had been lost. | |
Mrs Parkhouse was found at her father's home (L) | |
Police want to trace Ms Parkhouse's lighter and a silver flip-top mobile phone which she used that night at her father's house but has been missing since her death. | |
The owners of cars seen in the area at the time of the murder are also being urged to come forward to eliminate them from the inquiry. | |
One is a dark blue Mini with a Union Flag printed on the roof and a Neath RFC sticker in the rear window. Another is a blue K-registration Peugeot parked at the top of Cardiff Street on the day she was killed. | |
Detectives also want information about a car that was regularly parked at the top of Cardiff Street during the summer months, but which has not been seen since the death. | |
Police have also put posters up appealing for information about her death and her husband, Andre, has made a fresh appeal for help. | |
An inquest into her death has been opened and adjourned. Arrangements have been made for her body to be released to her family for the funeral. | An inquest into her death has been opened and adjourned. Arrangements have been made for her body to be released to her family for the funeral. |
Anyone with any information is asked to contact South Wales Police on 01656 655555 |