Mystery strands of cut hair that link UK murder to girl's body in Italian church

THE cases of an Italian teenager who disappeared in 1993 and the murder of a mother in Britain in 2002 have returned to the spotlight after decomposed remains were discovered in an Italian church where the girl was last seen, police said yesterday.

Police in Dorset believe the disappearance of Elisa Claps – who vanished in her hometown of Potenza on 12 September, 1993, aged 16 – could be linked with the killing of Heather Barnett, 48, whose mutilated body was found by her two children in the bathroom of her home in Bournemouth in November 2002.

Ms Barnett was found with "strands of cut hair, not belonging to her, placed in her right hand", according to Dorset police.

Women in the Bournemouth area also reported having their hair cut in strange circumstances, some when travelling on buses.

In the Potenza area, there were similar reports around the time that Miss Claps went missing. Italian police yesterday noted that four British detectives had travelled to Potenza and other Italian cities last October to interview and take DNA samples from the hair of 15 women who had reported having their hair cut in unusual or suspicious circumstances.

Italian police announced that the decomposed remains believed to belong to Ms Claps were discovered in a corner of a hard-to-reach rooftop garret on the Most Holy Trinity church on Wednesday by maintenance workers who had climbed to the roof to fix a leak.

DNA tests will be performed to determine if the remains belong to Ms Claps, Potenza police spokesman Giuseppe Persano said.

Ms Claps' brother, Gildo Claps, said yesterday that the glasses, a shirt and shoes discovered alongside the remains belonged to his sister.

Speaking outside the church, he said the family will now redouble efforts to find justice.

"She was there before everyone's eyes for 17 years, exactly where everyone thought she was: in the last place where she had been seen," he said.

Ms Claps was last seen in the Most Holy Trinity church in downtown Potenza with an acquaintance, Danilo Restivo, who later said he had spent about ten minutes in the church with her before leaving.

Mr Restivo has denied wrongdoing. He remains under investigation in the case, his lawyer Mario Marinelli said yesterday. He said his client was living in Britain and was calm.

Mr Persano said that Italian authorities had remained in contact with their British counterparts concerning Mr Restivo.

Dorset police said: "We are continuing our normal contact with the Italian police and other authorities – and will continue to assist them if and when asked."