A leading criminologist has questioned why the landlord of Jo Yeates stills remains a suspect in her murder.
Eccentric Chris Jefferies, 66, was arrested on suspicion of murdering the 25-year-old on December 30 at the Canynge Road, Clifton, Bristol, where the two both lived.
Police obtained two extensions to keep Mr Jefferies detained for the maximum time limit but released him early on police bail, without charge, on January 1.
Dutch engineer Vincent Tabak, 32, was then arrested and charged with Jo’s murder.
But despite Tabak’s charge, Mr Jefferies has not had his police bail cancelled and is therefore still a suspect, police confirmed today.
David Wilson, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Birmingham City University, said it would be normal practice to release other suspects from bail following a charge.
Professor Wilson, who has researched many murderers including serial killer Fred West, Soham murderer Ian Huntley, and Suffolk strangler Steven Wright, said: ”I’ve not heard that the landlord Chris Jefferies has had his bail cancelled, which could be seen as significant.
”Now that they’ve charged Vincent Tabak it would make sense for police to cancel Mr Jefferies’ bail – that would be normal procedure.
”I’d expect the police to act quickly to end any misunderstanding in relation to Mr Jefferies not being released from bail.”
After Tabak was charged on Saturday evening Inspector David Horwood, from Avon and Somerset police, said: ”We’re now considering the impact of the charge on other aspects of the investigation.”
A force spokesman confirmed Mr Jefferies was still on bail but refused to comment further.
Keeping Christopher Jefferies on bail for 6 weeks after Vincent Tabak’s arrest was a sign that the police’s policy was to collect suspects. Neither of these two men had any motive for killing England’s No. 1 tragic Christmas victim. She had not been sexually assaulted, and neither man had any history whatsoever of violence against women nor anything else. The obvious suspect ought to have been someone she knew well enough to get into an argument serious enough to lead to violence. But the media were desparate for a high-profile villain, and shy, intelligent Dr. Vincent Tabak had the makings of a very high class scoundrel in the hands of A & S Constabulary. When he was arrested, he denied the charge, not realizing at first that he was now Britain’s public enemy No. 1. So he was spirited away to Worcestershire and forbidden to receive visits in prison from his girlfriend or telephone to his family in Holland until his solicitor had talked him into signing a plea of manslaughter, aided, as we now know, by a chaplain from the Salvation Army who understood how to serve two masters.