Handbag, shoes vital clues?

Press, 27 August 1980, Page 6

Handbag, shoes vital clues?

PA Auckland A missing black handbag and a pair of shoes could, if found, lead detectives to the attacker of Jacqueline Hazel Blunden, aged 16, who was found lying in a pool of blood near a Takapuna nightclub at the week-end. Miss Blunden, of Northcote, was reported to be still in a serious condition in the Auckland Hospital last evening. The police believe she had the handbag and shoes with her when she was savagely beaten and left unconscious in Anzac Street about 3.15 a.m. on Saturday. The missing articles may prove to be the most important clues to solving the crime, according to Detective Chief Inspector R. N. Macdonald, who heads the 26 detectives investigating the assault., Detectives now assume

that the attacker took the shoes and bag, which they believe contained nothing valuable, or somebody might have picked them up aftei the attack.

They are also trying to And the weapon used to inflict the severe head wounds to Miss Blunden.

“We are now working on the theory that the girl was placed in the position she was found, beside a cai parked on a grass verge, so that' her body would not easily be seen from, the roadway,” said Mr Macdonald. Detectives had spoken with a person who had heard a man and a-woman arguing about the time Miss Blunden had been attacked.

.This , person had heard the words, “Leave me alone: get away.” The Takapuna police yesterday spoke with another person who could be a “vital witness.” ' •