Police search for killer after Wigan student murdered at beauty spot
A STUDENT was murdered as she walked through a local beauty spot, police said today.
Ellen Higginbottom, 18, died from multiple wounds to her neck after being attacked in the Orrell Water Park in Wigan.
Police were tonight investigating reports that two other women were followed in the park the day before and said they were keeping an open mind over whether the attack was sexually motivated.
Ellen’s parents Mike, a successful businessman, and Kay, 48, a school head teacher, were being comforted by family liaison officers at their home in Worsley, Greater Manchester today.
The murder of the teenager came just weeks after her mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, Ellen’s grandfather revealed today.
Derek Goldstraw, 80, of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs., said: “I can’t stop crying. We’re all so heartbroken – our angel has been taken from us.
“She was such a happy and beautiful girl who lit up our lives. I used to take her for a walk in that park when she was a little girl. When I sit down and think of her now, the tears just come in floods.
“I’m devastated. Whoever’s done this is an animal. They need catching and locked up for life. I don’t know how her mum will be coping with this as she was diagnosed with a brain tumour a few weeks ago. She’ll be in bits.”
Ellen’s boyfriend Ryan Warren, 18, was last night too upset to talk at his home in Warrington, Cheshire.
Ellen, an A level student who dreamed of becoming a doctor, went missing after leaving Winstanley College in Wigan on Friday at 1pm.
A police search was launched when her family reported her missing at 7.30pm and her body was found by a police officer in the park at 2.30am on Saturday.
A post-mortem revealed that Ellen died from multiple wounds to her neck.
Police refused to say how the injuries may have been inflicted but it is not thought that they are looking for a murder weapon.
Detective Superintendent Howard Millington from Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team said: “This is an absolute tragedy. My thoughts are with Ellen’s family and friends. What they must be going through is unimaginable.
“We will be leaving no stone unturned in this investigation. Someone out there knows who did this, or they know it was them, and we will not stop until we find them and bring them to justice.”