UK - Julia James, 53, murdered, Snowdown, Kent, 27 April 2021 *ARREST*

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Assistant Chief Constable Tom Richards from Kent Police said: “We are now in a position to release an image of a man we would like to speak to.

“We firmly believe he has information that could help this investigation and we urge him to come forward.

“We are also appealing to the public or anyone who knows this individual to please come forward with his details.

“Perhaps he lives near you, perhaps you work with him or perhaps he visits your local shop to buy food.

‘”Please get in touch and help us find the answers Julia’s family deserve.”

Kent Police have yet to establish a motive for the 53-year-old’s murder.
Image released of man who 'could be key' to Julia James murder investigation | ITV News
 
This guy is dressed like an organised traveller.
His bag, money belt, clothing..
I wonder if he was visiting and shared accommodation with the murderer?
Was camping in the woods for a couple of days?
Was seen running out of the park in terror,
sorry I use the word park when I mean woods.
It's not fitting for me...
Why would he be there the day after the murder if he was the perpetrator?
My head is tangled now.
Nothing fits.
 
wednesday78 said:
This looks pretty accurate to me - in terms of shapes of scenery in the background it looks as though he's stood not necessarily in the long grass but in Pond Lane?
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I've revisited this and I think you and @Acp196 may be right. The spot by the houses seemed most likely to me as it explained how the shot was taken - ie. from one of the houses, probably zoomed in.

But the backdrop on your location does match the photo better. I think maybe he is stood in the field that is bordered by Pond Lane and Adisham Rd, and the photo could have been taken by someone further down on Pond Lane (it's a shame Pond Lane isn't included on street view).
 
Grouse said:
I've revisited this and I think you and @Acp196 may be right. The spot by the houses seemed most likely to me as it explained how the shot was taken - ie. from one of the houses, probably zoomed in.

But the backdrop on your location does match the photo better. I think maybe he is stood in the field that is bordered by Pond Lane and Adisham Rd, and the photo could have been taken by someone further down on Pond Lane (it's a shame Pond Lane isn't included on street view).
Click to expand...

Yes would be much easier if you could see the angle from Pond Lane! To me this photo looks like a still from a police bodyworn camera, if there were lots of police around the day after that might make sense that they stopped and talked to lots of people in the area, perhaps thought this guy seemed suspicious but had no grounds to ask further questions - but further intelligence suggests they now do? Just a theory among many!
 
MrsWatson said:
So is this guy an actual suspect, or a possible witness, or just someone they know was in the area that they haven't been able to account for?
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At the moment they haven't said, but my understanding is that the police would be very hesitant to release a 'wanted' photo of a random witness due to the risk it puts that person in, so just my opinion but it feels like they see him as a suspect but are keeping cards close to their chest.
 
I do feel there could be a link between the Julia James murder and that of Maria Rawlings.

Distance isn't so much of an issue considering that serial murderers average distance-t0-kill can range from less than a mile to over 500 miles. People are mobile and thus murderers are mobile. As America had a boom in serial murderers with the launch of highways, our own motorways, A and B roads facilitate killers further away from their immediate vicinities.

The location of both body finds are similar, though Maria Rawlings more suburban but still in green space where people walk their dogs. Both locations were metres away from an A-road (A2 in the James case, A12 in the Rawlings case). Both women lay dead in places where school-children might see them on the way home, on time for the post-school crowd.

The MO of causing death seems similar; both involved blunt-force trauma, although Rawlings also suffered neck compression. We haven't had full details of how Julia James died as yet.

The profile of both victims is not dissimilar. Julia was 53 and Maria 45. They're both white British, both from home counties, and both not at work in the afternoon.

The time the women were found/murdered is also similar. James supposedly left home around 14.30 and police were called at 16.08. Rawlings was found at 14.00. This is the post-lunch/pre-evening (13.00-17.00) time of day, when not much happens except to do with schools closing for the day.

If they are related, I'd look at the similarities between the victims, and the time of day as a key signal. If linked, there's a pathological need for the killer to viciously hurt middle-aged white women and leave them broken and exposed in time for the schoolkids walking home. It's broadly about 'revenge' but only in the pathological sense, against some deep-set long-ago 'wrong', and not directly against these women.

If these two cases were linked and I were to geo-profile them together, I'd say the offender is someone who would live somewhere with a buffer from both incidents, most likely London or the part of Kent closer to London. He's mobile for work reasons connecting Essex and eastern Kent. I'd look at Dartford, Maidstone and Bromley.

But if they aren't linked, and if there aren't any more similar killings within a 15-mile radius of Snowdown, then the profile would be the original disorganised offender suffering from psychosis. It would be hard to consider any other type of killer with that kind of short range combined with the disorganised nature of the murder. He would be somewhere in the triangle between Margate-Canterbury-Dover.
 
Grouse said:
I've revisited this and I think you and @Acp196 may be right. The spot by the houses seemed most likely to me as it explained how the shot was taken - ie. from one of the houses, probably zoomed in.

But the backdrop on your location does match the photo better. I think maybe he is stood in the field that is bordered by Pond Lane and Adisham Rd, and the photo could have been taken by someone further down on Pond Lane (it's a shame Pond Lane isn't included on street view).
Click to expand...

I do agree about the field location, it’s a very strange photo to get your bearings on. I was wondering how someone had got so close to take the photo! Maybe it’s a friend or an acquaintance and they’ve taken pictures along their journey and the person in the photo has disclosed some information to the photographer and then they have come forward. All my own opinion, but it is strange to see such a clear photo that isn’t cctv!
 
The large holdall puts me in mind of something. I don't know if it's a thing in the south of England, but in the north we often get young guys about his age carrying large holdalls like that calling door to door selling cleaning products. They introduce themselves as ex offenders on rehabilitation schemes.
 
ApparentlyInDenial said:
I do feel there could be a link between the Julia James murder and that of Maria Rawlings.
[...]
If they are related, I'd look at the similarities between the victims, and the time of day as a key signal. If linked, there's a pathological need for the killer to viciously hurt middle-aged white women and leave them broken and exposed in time for the schoolkids walking home. It's broadly about 'revenge' but only in the pathological sense, against some deep-set long-ago 'wrong', and not directly against these women.
Click to expand...

SBM/BBM

But NB that Maria is thought to have been murdered the evening before:
'Murdered' mum of two, 45, found dead in bush named by police
"Maria, who lived in the Chelmsford area, attended Kings Georges Hospital in Goodmayes, Ilford, on the evening of Monday (May 3).

She then left the hospital and made her way to Barley Lane in the direction of the A12.

However, it is believed that while walking along this road, she may have been approached. Her body was found the next day."
 
Acp196 said:
I do agree about the field location, it’s a very strange photo to get your bearings on. I was wondering how someone had got so close to take the photo! Maybe it’s a friend or an acquaintance and they’ve taken pictures along their journey and the person in the photo has disclosed some information to the photographer and then they have come forward. All my own opinion, but it is strange to see such a clear photo that isn’t cctv!
Click to expand...


Is it possible the picture is from cctv from a bus ?
 
Skigh said:
Is it possible the picture is from cctv from a bus ?
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I'm not an expert, just an interested amateur, but it looks like it was taken with a telephoto lens, but not a fast one (one where the aperture won't open up to the point where it would do a good job with sports/action photography). It's clear, but not what you would call 'tack sharp'. I'm wondering about a birdwatcher or nature photographer in the area who had a decent camera set up in a stationary position for other reasons and saw someone/something he thought was odd.

JMO
 
Grouse said:
The large holdall puts me in mind of something. I don't know if it's a thing in the south of England, but in the north we often get young guys about his age carrying large holdalls like that calling door to door selling cleaning products. They introduce themselves as ex offenders on rehabilitation schemes.
Click to expand...

Yes, I live in the South East and we do sometimes get those guys knocking at the door. I think they are known as 'Nottingham knockers'.
 
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