GUILTY UK - Maria Rawlings, 45, murdered, Romford, Essex, 3 May 2021 *arrest*

[Amonet]

The deceased body of Maria Rawlings, aged 45, was found in shrubbery in the Little Heath area of Essex.

Detectives say Maria Jane Rawlings attended King George's Hospital, in Ilford, on 3 May and left on foot in the direction of the A12.

They believe the 45-year-old, from Chelmsford, Essex, was approached by someone while walking on Barley Lane.

Her body was found at about 14:00 BST the following day in Little Heath.

Cause of death is said to be "neck compression and possible blunt force head trauma".

Maria Jane Rawlings: Mum found dead near hospital was murdered

 

[Amonet]

Police are asking members of the public to help, if they can. There's an incident line that's been set up.

Police need to hear from people who had seen Maria in the area, and are requesting dashcam footage, home CCTV or doorbell camera footage from the area.

Officers are continuing to examine the crime scene and will remain in the area in the coming days. Any members of the public who believe that they have information that could assist police are asked to approach those officers, or to call the incident room on 020 8345 3865.

"Now I am asking for the public to help us. I want to hear from anyone who knew Maria and knows about where she had been and who she had been associating with. Have you seen her in the area in the company of another person? Had you recently heard or seen a disturbance or struggle in the area but did not think it significant at the time? You might have dash cam or doorbell footage that could have captured her – please think carefully and, if you can help, contact police.”

Murder investigation launched in Romford

 

[Angleterre]

Gosh another one
Although I don’t think this will be related to Julia James murder unless the suspect has travelled 77 miles or approx 123km
I know in my fellow WS countries such as the USA and Australia, this distance is nothing to travel but in our little country where the length is 603 miles /907 km as the bird flies, and 300 miles/500km wide then it’s a fair distance....
RIP Beautiful lady and let’s hope that justice will soon be here

 

[Splash The Fly]

Poor lady, nobody deserves such a fate. My condolences to her friends and family.

I have taken the liberty to make a little Google Maps screenshot of where she is last seen, where she has been found and the hospital.

"neck compression and possible blunt force head trauma"

It definitely is a double action (which means that the killer had time to think).

I would love to follow this case and if I said anything inappropriate, please tell me as it wasn't my intention to do so.

 

[proclee]

Gosh another one
Although I don’t think this will be related to Julia James murder unless the suspect has travelled 77 miles or approx 123km
I know in my fellow WS countries such as the USA and Australia, this distance is nothing to travel but in our little country where the length is 603 miles /907 km as the bird flies, and 300 miles/500km wide then it’s a fair distance....
RIP Beautiful lady and let’s hope that justice will soon be here

I agree it’s unlikely to be related, it caught my attention as I live right in the middle of both locations and there has been weekends where I’ve been to Romford market on a Saturday and then for a country walk in aylesham on a Sunday, although it’s not a distance someone may travel on a regular basis it’s very much doable.
Also the prospect of someone living in Kent and working in London (Romford is very much on the cusp of London) similar to the SE suspect (of course not linking that case but just the aspect of the distance people do travel in and around the south east.

 

[wens67]

Gosh another one
Although I don’t think this will be related to Julia James murder unless the suspect has travelled 77 miles or approx 123km
I know in my fellow WS countries such as the USA and Australia, this distance is nothing to travel but in our little country where the length is 603 miles /907 km as the bird flies, and 300 miles/500km wide then it’s a fair distance....
RIP Beautiful lady and let’s hope that justice will soon be here

It could be related to her though. It says blunt instrument used and strangulation. 77 miles isn't a long way by train. Also in the photograph of the man Police want to question on Julia James' case he has a rucksack. Could he be homeless?

Sorry just thought maybe should show the photograph I am referring to

Kent police ask for help from forces across the country to help solve Julia James' murder | Daily Mail Online

 

[Amonet]

I doubt the two murders are related. But in a way that makes it even worse as there's two murders of a similar nature in such a small time frame. Two heartbroken families. Two communities living in fear.

I hope the killers of both these innocent women will be found asap.

 

[Splash The Fly]

Gosh another one
Although I don’t think this will be related to Julia James murder unless the suspect has travelled 77 miles or approx 123km
I know in my fellow WS countries such as the USA and Australia, this distance is nothing to travel but in our little country where the length is 603 miles /907 km as the bird flies, and 300 miles/500km wide then it’s a fair distance....
RIP Beautiful lady and let’s hope that justice will soon be here

Interesting theory, however we need to be careful with linking (as it would go from a one time murder to an almost serial killer. Same MO, a location that would be possible to go to if the killer was homeless (as someone pointed out)). Its not an impossible theory, but it might be a bit far fetched (I would say, put it aside for now as an MO wouldn't be enough to connect the two cases. It would be a stronger link if the murderer from the Julia James case would be seen in Barley Lane). Still, interesting theory!

Also, a neck compression might be from the blow to the head (not sure as I'm not an expert at all, someone who knows something about this, might pick up more about this, in the meanwhile here's a link/picture from Google Images about the several neck injuries, not graphical, just a drawing for anyone who's interested).

Just saying my thoughts, feel free to debunk them! Just trying to help!

 

[JuicyLucy]

My feeling is that they're not related, but it's just a gut reaction. "Neck compression and possible blunt force head trauma" (per the linked report) says very different things to me than "severe head trauma" does. I would read 'neck compression' as meaning 'strangulation', which seems a good deal more personal and in turn makes me feel it's more likely either to have been someone she knew, or a killing with a sexual motive, neither of which rings true for me in relation to Julia James' murder.

There's a lot of information I'd like to know in relation to Maria Rawlings that doesn't seem to be available to us yet afaik, such as how her body was left and if it was covered up. I also would like to know more about why she was where she was.

As I understand it, she was at King George Hospital on Monday evening and LE think she was followed after she left, leading to her murder, even though her body wasn't found until the next day. I'm wondering why she was at a hospital in the evening. Presumably no visiting atm because of Covid. Did she work there or was she a patient? KGH has an A&E and an urgent care centre, one of which is probably the most likely reason to be there as a patient imo. Did anyone know she had gone there? Was there anything contentious about why? KGH also has a maternity unit, so non-routine antenatal monitoring might be going on out of hours. Could she have been pregnant? She's just young enough at 45. Might that be a motive? I'm just thinking out loud here. I don't have a particular person in my sights and if I did I wouldn't say anything on thread until and unless there was a named POI.

It would be good to know more detail.

JMO

'Murdered' mum of two, 45, found dead in bush named by police

Departments and services - King George Hospital - NHS

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

I'm gonna sound like a broken record but there's a major psychiatric hospital just minutes away. Goodmayes Hospital.

Schizophrenia affects about 1.4% of the population, but 11% of unlawful killers in the UK have schizophrenia.

It's just the method, the bludgeoning, that points to disorganised killer. Strangulation however = sex. So who knows.

 

[Amonet]

I'm gonna sound like a broken record but there's a major psychiatric hospital just minutes away. Goodmayes Hospital.

Schizophrenia affects about 1.4% of the population, but 11% of unlawful killers in the UK have schizophrenia.

It's just the method, the bludgeoning, that points to disorganised killer. Strangulation however = sex. So who knows.

I would go with the strangulation for this one Maybe head trauma first to knock her unconscious, and then the strangulation.

Just my guess though.

She seems to have headed to the main road, maybe to catch a bus? It seems the sort of place that this kind of attacker might be hanging around?

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Odd (or rather, telling) questions from the DCI to the public today:

"I want to hear from anyone who knew Maria and knows about where she had been and who she had been associating with."

"Have you seen her in the area in the company of another person?"

"Had you recently heard or seen a disturbance or struggle in the area but did not think it significant at the time?"

Is that last one in particular is a hint that she may have been involved with other disturbances?

Murder inquiry after woman found dead in east London

 

[JuicyLucy]

I'm gonna sound like a broken record but there's a major psychiatric hospital just minutes away. Goodmayes Hospital.

Schizophrenia affects about 1.4% of the population, but 11% of unlawful killers in the UK have schizophrenia.

It's just the method, the bludgeoning, that points to disorganised killer. Strangulation however = sex. So who knows.

"Possible" blunt force trauma isn't very bludgeony on the British Bludgeoning Scale* though imo. It sounds more to me like there was a contusion to her head following a struggle or peri mortem in the course of abandoning her body that the PM couldn't discount as contributing to death. Without photos or something more from the pathologist it's impossible to form much of an opinion, but imo the strangulation seems like the main CoD from a profiling POV. Blunt force trauma might be incidental but neck compression almost certainly isn't.

It doesn't at all rule out the relevance of the psych hospital's proximity which I confess I had missed completely and is certainly interesting. (Though its relevance and the likelihood that this murder was committed by the same perp who murdered Julia James are inversely linked, of course - unless we're looking for an unravelling psychiatrist... )

[*The British Bludgeoning Scale is not a thing so please don't ask me for my source.]

All JMO

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

"Possible" blunt force trauma isn't very bludgeony on the British Bludgeoning Scale* though imo. It sounds more to me like there was a contusion to her head following a struggle or peri mortem in the course of abandoning her body that the PM couldn't discount as contributing to death. Without photos or something more from the pathologist it's impossible to form much of an opinion, but imo the strangulation seems like the main CoD from a profiling POV. Blunt force trauma might be incidental but neck compression almost certainly isn't.

It doesn't at all rule out the relevance of the psych hospital's proximity which I confess I had missed completely and is certainly interesting. (Though its relevance and the likelihood that this murder was committed by the same perp who murdered Julia James are inversely linked, of course - unless we're looking for an unravelling psychiatrist... )

[*The British Bludgeoning Scale is not a thing so please don't ask me for my source.]

All JMO

Yeah I’m past the idea they were linked.

British Bludgeoning Scale sounds fairly legit to me

 

[JuicyLucy]

Odd (or rather, telling) questions from the DCI to the public today:

"I want to hear from anyone who knew Maria and knows about where she had been and who she had been associating with."

"Have you seen her in the area in the company of another person?"

"Had you recently heard or seen a disturbance or struggle in the area but did not think it significant at the time?"

Is that last one in particular is a hint that she may have been involved with other disturbances?

Murder inquiry after woman found dead in east London

Or perhaps reflects a suspicion that her attacker may have been someone she knew, even if only to recognise/talk to on the street. It sounds as though LE think this may have had the appearance of a row between a couple. Less clear why they might think that - CCTV maybe? I'd assumed they suspected her attacker of following her because of the short distance between the hospital she attended and where her body was found, but maybe there's CCTV that shows both that and some kind of altercation?

I wonder if we can track down some traffic cam images?

JMO

 

[Rosegold68]

is there a serial killer out there working through the counties?

ive never been scared to walk anywhere alone, and i lived near leeds during the yorkshire rippers time....but now,nope,i'm sticking to roads, even that doesn't feel safe though

 

[Amonet]

is there a serial killer out there working through the counties?

ive never been scared to walk anywhere alone, and i lived near leeds during the yorkshire rippers time....but now,nope,i'm sticking to roads, even that doesn't feel safe though

I don't think it's a serial killer. I am wondering if lockdown led some pent up feelings in some people and there were too few people on the streets for them to feel safe putting those feelings into action, and now they feel safer coming out of the woodwork.

 

[Rosegold68]

so where was Maria found? one news report said opposite a college in shrubbery....well the college nearby only has a really small bit of shrubbery and is surrounded by houses and a main road

 

[JuicyLucy]

so where was Maria found? one news report said opposite a college in shrubbery....well the college nearby only has a really small bit of shrubbery and is surrounded by houses and a main road

There's a snippet of video footage embedded on this page that gives some clues:
'Murdered' mum of two, 45, found dead in bush named by police

It's shot from a vehicle going east on Chadwell Heath Lane. You can see a police van on the far side of Little Heath (the green) at the eastern end of Barley Lane, and then the camera pans back to the west and you can see police in the intersection with the B177. There seems to be police tape cordoning off the western side of Little Green, over the road from Redbridge College.

So I think it's the south west corner of Little Heath, in what's a pretty pathetic bit of shrubbery (on the right of my lift from Google streetview) although it seems to have succeeded in keeping her concealed until 2pm the next day.

 

[Angleterre]

Interesting theory, however we need to be careful with linking (as it would go from a one time murder to an almost serial killer. Same MO, a location that would be possible to go to if the killer was homeless (as someone pointed out)). Its not an impossible theory, but it might be a bit far fetched (I would say, put it aside for now as an MO wouldn't be enough to connect the two cases. It would be a stronger link if the murderer from the Julia James case would be seen in Barley Lane). Still, interesting theory!

Also, a neck compression might be from the blow to the head (not sure as I'm not an expert at all, someone who knows something about this, might pick up more about this, in the meanwhile here's a link/picture from Google Images about the several neck injuries, not graphical, just a drawing for anyone who's interested).

Just saying my thoughts, feel free to debunk them! Just trying to help!

@
Splash The Fly
I understand what you are saying however I didn’t specifically say that they are linked
I am a retired Senior Investigating Officer SIO and I would have been the Detective in charge of an incident such as this along with my team of Detectives so I do have a lot of knowledge as to how this works
But you make a relevant point