Police given more time to question beach murder suspect
Curtis Lancaster,BBC News
Family photo
Police have been granted more time to interview a 20-year-old man arrested on suspicion of stabbing two women on a beach.
Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, died at the scene, while a 38-year-old woman was taken to hospital with serious stab wounds. She has since been discharged.
The pair, from Poole, Dorset, were attacked on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth at about 23:45 BST last Friday.
The man, from Croydon, London, was arrested by officers in the capital on Tuesday. Police have been given a custody extension by a magistrate to continue to question him.
The suspect, who has been held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, was transported from London to Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Two locations in the town have been forensically examined and searched, according to Dorset Police.
Officers have also searched two separate addresses in Croydon.
Det Supt Richard Dixey, of the major crime investigation team, described the case as “fast-moving” and “extensive”.
An enhanced police presence would remain in the area into the weekend, the force added.
Mrs Gray’s cause of death was recorded as multiple stab wounds when her inquest was opened at Bournemouth Coroner’s Court.
Her wife Sian said she would miss her “immensely”, adding: “Her giggly laugh and big smile will be hard to be without.”
Sharon Macklin, Mrs Gray’s mother, described her as “amazing, funny and kind” with an “energetic soul”.
Dorset Futsal Club, a women’s indoor football team where Mrs Gray was head coach, said it was “absolutely devastated”.
A 17-year-old boy was initially arrested on suspicion of murder but he has since been released without charge.
The teenager from Lancashire has been eliminated from inquiries, police said.
