James - inquest opened

Lianne Cooper

02 May 2008

AN INQUEST into the death of James Hughes, whose body was found concealed in a suitcase at his family home last week, was opened on Wednesday (April 30).
James was reported missing along with his mother Heather Wardle on April 19 (Saturday) after she left the family home the previous evening, claiming to be visiting a friend nearby, but never turned up.
Her body was then discovered last Monday (April 21) at the bottom of a tree in undergrowth off Winyates Way. She had a ligature around her neck.
Two days later James' body was found hidden in a suitcase, a fact now confirmed by police, in the family's Loxely Close garden.
A man and youth were arrested in suspicion of his murder, but were released last Friday (April 25) without charge.
Police are still awaiting results from post mortems on both bodies after the first one carried out on James was inconclusive. Further tests are taking place to determine how he died and how long ago, but these are expected to take some time, say police.
Superintendent Jane Horwood added: "Contrary to some reports, the suitcase was not found in or under the shed, or buried.
"It was concealed among other items in the garden and the body was in a decomposed condition."
Officers are still engaged in house to house inquiries and are still searching the local area, while forensics teams are still working in the family house.
But it is unknown how long the investigation is expected to take as police try to piece together a timescale of what happened to James and his mother.
Superintendent Horwood added: "Police are continuing to investigate reports of sightings of the two over the last few weeks and months, and it is still unclear when James was last seen.
"This is a major crime investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of both James and Heather and there are still many unanswered questions.
"It is a very unusual and tragic case and we will leave no stone unturned in trying to establish what happened."
The inquest was adjourned to a later date, yet to be determined, following police reports.

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