Miss McDonnell, a 19-year-old gap-year student, was found on the pavement less than 100 metres from her London home early on Tuesday. She had suffered three blows to the back of the head from a heavy blunt instrument.

She was filmed by CCTV getting on the 111 bus outside John Lewis in Kingston upon Thames at 11.50pm on Monday for the ride to Hampton, West London, and again at 17 minutes past midnight getting off the bus alone, five minutes’ walk from home.

The killer is thought to have waited for her at a corner and pounced as she passed. Police believe that the assailant had intended to rob or sexually assault her, but was disturbed when a resident turned on his lights. The neighbour had heard a “thudding” noise outside and went to investigate. He found Miss McDonnell unconscious and bleeding, but her clothes had not been disturbed and she still had her purse and mobile phone.

Scotland Yard is now investigating possible links to hammer attacks in southwest London in the past six months: in August a man was attacked with a hammer in Richmond and had his wallet stolen, and there was a similar attack in Hounslow at Christmas.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook said: “It wasn’t a frenzied attack, there were quite deliberate blows to the head.”

-----related articles ----

Subject: FW: ROBBERIES MORE THAN DOUBLED IN ENGLAND


"France and England now have higher robbery rates than the United States,
where rates have fallen by over a quarter in five years."

National Center for Policy Analysis
DAILY POLICY DIGEST - Friday, February 7, 2003

    o   ROBBERIES MORE THAN DOUBLED IN ENGLAND over the last
        decade....BRITISH HOME OFFICE
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ROBBERY RISING IN ENGLAND

Against a backdrop of overall reductions in recorded crimes in recent years
in England and Wales, increases in robberies this past year stand out as a
disturbing counter trend. And although robberies against persons, and
street crime generally constitute a very small proportion of overall crime,
their numbers are increasing.

A survey by the British Home Office examined over 2,000 crime reports and
witness statements across seven police force areas. The report focuses
specifically on personal robbery, which accounts for the bulk of recorded
robbery and almost all of the increase in recent years. Some of the
report's findings include:

    o   Robberies reported to the police in England rose by 28
        percent last year.

    o   There were 362,000 robberies in England last year, having
        more than doubled in a decade.

    o   Robbery in England is concentrated in urban areas -- 44
        percent occurring in London and another 25 percent in the
        West midlands, Manchester and West Yorkshire.

The report says 94 percent of suspects and 76 percent of victims are males;
seven in 10 offenders are under 20; and one in four victims is under 20 --
compared to one in 8 in 1993.

Comparing robbery statistics in England to France, the report shows:

    o   France has a slightly higher rate of robbery than England
        and has a similar rising trend -- the rate is lower and
        more stable in Germany, Canada and Australia.

    o   France and England now have higher robbery rates than the
        United States, where rates have fallen by over a quarter
        in five years.

Source: Jonathan Smith, "The nature of personal robbery," Home Office,
January 2003, British Crime Survey.

For text
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors254.pdf

For more on Crime Statistics
http://www.ncpa.org/iss/cri/

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