Officers investigating the brutal murder of a British woman eight years ago are following a potential new lead after the discovery of a teenager's body in Italy.
Mother-of-two Heather Barnett's mutilated body was discovered in the bathroom of her Bournemouth home in 2002 by her two horrified children.
Police investigating the murder believe there may be a significant link between her death and the grisly discovery made in Potenza, southern Italy, disclosed on Thursday by Italian police.
Decomposed remains found in a hard-to-reach rooftop garret in the Most Holy Trinity church are believed to be those of missing teenager Elisa Claps. Miss Claps was 16 when she went missing in her home town of Potenza in 1993. Officers are awaiting the results of a DNA test to determine whether the body is hers.
Police in Dorset and in Italy believe Miss Claps case could be linked to Mrs Barnett's death. When Mrs Barnett's body was found she had strands of cut hair, not her own, in her hands.
Women in the Bournemouth area also reported having their hair cut in strange circumstances, some when travelling on buses. In the Potenza area, there were similar reports around the time that Miss Claps went missing.
Italian police believe that one of the last people to see Miss Claps alive was Danilo Restivo, who lived in the same town in Italy. He has consistently denied their claims.
Mr Restivo, who now lives in Charminster, in Bournemouth, has also been questioned by Dorset detectives in connection with the murder of Mrs Barnett.
Mr Restivo has consistently denied knowing anything about either the disappearance of Miss Claps or the murder of Mrs Barnett.
No one has been charged in connection with either investigation.
