Mother criticises Sussex Police over daughter's mysterious death

The body of Laura Hill, 25, was found by a resident near a lift on the first floor of a six-storey block of flats in Buenos Aires on October 1, 2007.

An inquest into the death of the dental nurse from Eastbourne opened and adjourned last week where a forensic expert said her death should be treated as a possible murder.

The coroner's court heard how Sussex Police detectives had been involved with Laura's inquest but British detectives did not go to Argentina to investigate the death, which was treated as suspicious by Argentine authorities.

Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles, the senior investigating officer for the case, explained to the coroner that British police forces could only participate in foreign investigations at the invitation of the relevant overseas force.

He told coroner Alan Craze the Argentine police were under no obligation to involve their British counterparts and the force had been advised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office the best course of action was to work via Interpol and the Serious Organised Crime Agency to request information.

However Det Chf Insp Bowles accepted that British forces can ask to be invited to join foreign investigations, but that Sussex Police had not done so in this case.

Speaking after the inquest and this revelation, Laura's mother Alison Hill told how she was disappointed in the force.

She said: “I’m not satisfied that everything was done that should have been done.

“I feel the police initially straight away decided they weren’t going to be able to go to Argentina but I know for a fact that other police forces have gone abroad.

“And even though officially you have to wait to be invited, other forces have asked to be invited to make sure they could go."

Eve Henderson, founder member of the campaign group Murdered Abroad, agreed.

She told The Argus: “I think that Sussex Police should have asked to have been invited to participate in the investigation.

"The family was from Sussex and they deserved answers.”

The cause of Laura's death was a toxic level of cocaine in her system, commensurate with having ingested a packet of the drug or injected a large quantity, although no foreign matter was found in her system nor puncture marks on her skin.

At the inquest which was held on Monday and Tuesday in Eastbourne, forensic expert Alan Bayle told the court that having examined photographs from the scene of the crime, it was possible Laura had been murdered.

Photos revealed bruising to her lip, jaw and legs, and Alan Bayle said: “The bruising and wounding to the face has all the hallmarks of her being assaulted and this should be treated as possible murder.”

However, the inquest also heard contradicting evidence including from two UK doctors who said there was no evidence to suggest Laura had been moved after her death, despite cuts and bruises on her body.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "This inquest is not yet complete and there is further evidence to be heard. It would be inappropriate to make any comment at this."

FUN-LOVING LAURA HAD LED A WHOLESOME FAMILY LIFE

BY THE time Laura Hill flew to Argentina on August 19, 2007, this bright and bubbly 25-year-old, described by friends and family as a free spirit, was already connected to a powerful international drugs ring.

Her inquest heard that earlier that year, in the April, she was in a car which was pulled over and searched by police and ammunition was found. The driver was subsequently arrested.

But those who knew her best say this group of friends – and the secrecy with which she hid her connection to them from her family – was an aberration in a life which was independent but wholesome.

Her mother Alison Hill explained to The Argus that much of what has been reported about Laura has too narrow a perspective. She said: “People have been saying she was secretive and she wasn’t. She was a lovely bubbly girl but she obviously didn’t want us knowing about that part of her life, the part where she knew we wouldn’t have approved of any of it.”

Laura grew up the second of four children, very close to her family and always the life and soul of the party. Alison explained: “When she was little she was always a tomboy. I have two boys and two girls but Laura always thought she was one of the boys, anything they could do she could do better.

“And even when she was grown up, she wouldn’t think anything of putting overalls on and helping her dad paint a room or something – whereas her sister Kerry and I would be very happy to leave him to it – but then a few hours later she’d be all done up to go out and she’d be looking gorgeous.”

Laura lived in Eastbourne and trained as a dental nurse, also working for a time as a full time live-in carer in Pevensey Bay but, her mother said, it was in her private life that her sense of humour shone through.

“She was just so much fun. We had a family party with a trampoline once and Laura got my mum up on the trampoline even though she was in her eighties,” she said.

“You always knew when Laura was around because her laugh was the loudest, she would always make everything fun.”

Last week, the inquest into Laura’s death heard for the first time of her connection with the international drug and gun-smuggling ring, which some – including her parents – have linked with her unexplained death.

Police in Lancashire, Buenos Aires and the Netherlands were all following the activities of Leslie Graham, Michael Hailwood, Jason Bowley and their associates, even as major shipments of narcotics and guns flowed from Latin America via Europe into the UK, the inquest heard.

Seven men were jailed in 2010 for a total of 106 years at Liverpool Crown Court for the conspiracy, which involved importing drugs and guns into the UK via Amsterdam in modified Fiat Multipla cars.

The inquest learned that in phone calls intercepted by Dutch police Laura was referred to as “Blondie” and Jason Bowley – who was jailed for 15 years for his part in the operation – explained that in Argentina Laura shared a flat with gang member Leslie Graham.

Denying romantic relationships between Laura and any gang members, he said she had been “asked to do something she didn’t want to do, and that’s where the problems started”.

The coroner’s court heard how he said he believed the request had to do with the transport of drugs to the UK – if not as a mule herself, then to oversee others.

Detective Inspector Martin Kane of Lancashire Police also confirmed that had Laura lived, she would have been arrested along with the others as part of Operation Greengage and that her role in the operation was considered comparable to Bowley’s.

Bowley, who gave evidence, explained that Laura had become fearful of her life following disagreements with some of the men and that having witnessed some of these arguments he shared her concerns.

He said: “She was definitely scared of Hailwood. She told me she thought she would die in Argentina.”

The long-delayed inquest has shed some light on the mystery surrounding her death but questions remain.

Forensics expert Alan Bayle told the court that photographs showed her body had been moved and the case should be treated as “possible murder” but retired Det Chf Insp Trevor Bowles of Sussex Police said that it was naive to believe one could examine a crime scene based solely on photographs.

Among the suspicious circumstances surrounding Laura’s death was a flight out of the country taken by several of the gang members on October 1, the morning of her death.

Coroner Alan Craze pressed Bowley to confirm when that flight was booked, to which he replied that he had known about it for “a couple of days”.

But the extremely high levels of cocaine in Laura’s blood – with no evidence of her having swallowed a packet of the drug – along with confused early reports of her being found on a park bench and the relevance of threats and arguments within the criminal gang will all weigh on Mr Craze’s verdict, which is expected later this month.

In her final call to her mother, in mid September 2007, Laura passed on her love for both her parents and gave the worried pair the impression she had already returned from Buenos Aires.

Perhaps this month they will finally learn why she never did.