Stacey Lawrence - killed by stepfather Darren Walker

Lorry driver 'killed step-daughter'
source:pa.press.net



A lorry driver strangled his nine-year-old stepdaughter, leaving her body in the back of his cab, before hanging himself, it has emerged.
The girl's body was discovered in the lorry, which was parked at a Little Chef on the A605 near Warmington, Northamptonshire.
The 40-year-old man's body was found hanged from a tree in nearby woodland, Northamptonshire Police said.
The girl, who along with the man, is from the West Midlands, regarded the trip as a "treat", and her mother had no concerns before her tragic death, Detective Chief Inspector Tricia Kirk said.
She added: "Any death is distressing for police officers, but when it's a child and in such violent circumstances, it's even worse. I cannot begin to imagine what the family are going through, and we have family liaison officers with them trying to answer any questions that they may have.
"At the moment, we are treating it as a murder suicide. We believe the little girl was murdered and the man then committed suicide."
Police said the pair began their journey about 3am on Friday and were seen in Peterborough later that afternoon. But when the the white Spar lorry failed to return, the HGV company contacted police.
When officers found it, the curtains in the cab were drawn and it was unlocked. They tried to resuscitate the girl, but were unable to do so.
Detective Chief Inspector Kirk added: "The man is part of the family set up and they have a close relationship as stepfather and child. The mother was comfortable with the child being with the male, and there were no issues or concerns raised within the family. Our investigation is to try and find out what led to this tragic event taking place."
Sources said there were no other physical injuries to the girl and that the man had been in a long-term relationship with the girl's mother. Sources added that one of the lines of inquiry was whether the man had sexually abused the girl.

What a tragic story...

Was he trying to keep her quite?

What was going on before this happened?

Girl 'killed by mother's partner'

Monday, 31 August 2009

A nine-year-old girl whose body was discovered in a shop-chain's lorry on Saturday was killed by her mother's long-term boyfriend, police believe.



Stacey Lawrence, from West Bromwich in the West Midlands, was found strangled at a lorry park on the A605 near Warmington in Northamptonshire.

Darren Walker, aged 40 and also from West Bromwich, was found hanged in nearby woodland.

Detectives said they were treating the case as a murder-suicide.

Stacey had accompanied Mr Walker as he made deliveries to Spar stores in Norfolk on Friday.

Lorry missing

Det Ch Insp Tricia Kirk said Stacey had regarded the trip as a treat and her mother had no concerns before her death.

Ms Kirk added: "Our investigation is to try and find out what led to this tragic event taking place.

"At the moment, we are treating it as a murder-suicide. We believe the little girl was murdered and the man then committed suicide.

"We are not aware of any medical conditions and we are not aware of any family arguments."

Police had been alerted after the truck's owners reported the vehicle missing on Saturday afternoon.

The Spar delivery vehicle was then traced to a lorry park on the A605 near Warmington and was discovered next to a Jet filling station.

Police said the cab of the lorry was not locked and officers found the body of the girl in the cab.

Officers tried to resuscitate her, and shortly afterwards found Mr Walker's body hanging by a cord in woodland.

The route the lorry took has been released by detectives in a bid to find witnesses.

It left its depot in Willenhall in the West Midlands, during the early hours of Friday.

From there it went straight to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where it made deliveries to Spar stores.

On its return towards the Midlands, the lorry stopped near Peterborough at about 1500 BST before arriving at the layby in Warmington, near the Cambridgeshire border, at about 1535 BST.

Ms Kirk said: "It will have spent a great deal of time in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire during daylight hours, particularly on the A47, so I'm hopeful we will get some good information about its movements during the day."

The lorry has now been removed from the lay-by station.

Both bodies were taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary on Saturday night for post-mortem examinations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8230373.stm

Update on Sky news..
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Stacey-Lawrence-Death-Sex-Attack-Cannot-Be-Ruled-Out-After-Lorry-Murder/Article/200909115372323

RIP my dear!

when things like this happens to young children i get angry and upset but the murder of stacey as hit me harder than most as she only lives half a mile away from my sister in law we have to past her street when we visit,our trips over there wont be the same anymore,a beauty taken by a beast.

This is local to me too, it seems this man had a past history of trying to have sex with a 15 year old. I feel so sorry for Staceys Mom, imagine being with someone for a year and not knowing that.

RIP Stacey xx

Poor little girl.

thats the trouble he possibily did abuse stacey then he hung himself,now people are comming out of the woodwork saying he did something to them,if they'of said something at the time of the incident i'm sure stacey would still be alive.but this sort of thing happens over and over again.my heart goes out to stacey's mom the guilt she must be feelin.

So very sad. RIP little Stacey

Just heard the mother talking on Sky ,this is one of the most heartbreaking news items i've heard in a while.

its been confirmed today that stacy lawrence add been sexually assaulted before being strangled by her mothers boyfriend darren walker.

Forensic tests have confirmed that schoolgirl Stacey Lawrence was sexually assaulted before being strangled by her mother's boyfriend, who then hanged himself.



Stacey, nine, was found dead in the cab of Darren Walker's lorry in a layby on the A605 in Warmington, Northamptonshire, on Saturday August 29.

Walker, 40, who had taken Stacey out with him as a treat, was found hanged in woodland nearby.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: "The forensic results are back and they did confirm that there was evidence of a sexual assault which is what most people expected, obviously before the little girl died.

"There is no evidence that she had been raped but there was evidence of a sexual assault."

Just before Stacey was murdered, the pair made a stop at a service station. CCTV footage released by police seemed to show that the pair were comfortable together as they browsed the aisles.

The youngster had been on trips with Walker four or five times before, and her mother Roxanne Lawrence, who has three other children, said they had nicknamed her the "baby trucker".

Walker had been seeing Stacey's mother for about a year and only had one police record - a caution in 2006 for assaulting his wife of three years.

It has emerged Stacey was strangled with a ligature of black fabric, thought to be some kind of strapping.

Walker used the same sort of fabric to hang himself in nearby woodland, police said.

The Press Association

I found her name so I'm adding this:

Death of girl found in lorry probed

Updated on 30 August 2009

Source PA News

Police are trying to piece together the last movements of a nine-year-old girl believed to have been strangled in a lorry by her mother's boyfriend.

Stacey Lawrence was found dead in the cab of 40-year-old Darren Walker's white Spar lorry at the side of the A605 in Warmington, Northamptonshire, on Saturday afternoon.

Police believe Walker, from the West Bromwich area of the West Midlands, murdered her before killing himself.

Ijust find this so sad.what a pointless waste of life .A lovely girl with her whole life in front of her.If he was so ashamed of his actions why not just kill himself.

very sad indeed,she was even calling him dad.he deserved to die she didnt.she lived bout a milr from me i know were she lives so when i find out when funeral is im going to lay some flowers,if nobody minds i'd like to say it from madeline foundation.