Body found in Carole Waugh investigation

Friday, 03 August 2012

Carole Waugh was last seen by her family at Easter

By Ruth McKee

POLICE investigating the disappearance of a west-London business woman have found a body in a south-west London lock-up garage.

The discovery, made by officers yesterday, came the day after police announced that the disappearance of Carole Waugh, 50, from Marleybone, west London was being treated as a murder investigation following the arrest of a 47-year-old man on Tuesday.

The body found by police in Lime Court, New Malden, has not been formally identified but a post-mortem is expected to be carried out later today at Kingston mortuary.

Police admitted they were concerned for Miss Waugh's safety earlier in the investigation after it emerged someone posing as her brother had tried to sell her £650,000 Harrowby Street flat.

According to the police there has also been hundreds of thousands of pounds stolen from the missing woman's bank accounts and they suspect jewellery and “a significant number of possessions” belonging to the dead woman have been stolen.

Miss Waugh worked for an oil company in Libya for eight years before returning to London in 2008 and police believe she may have been working as an escort and using internet dating sites when she disappeared in April.

Although it was earlier believed the last sighting of the wealthy millionaire who lived alone in her west London flat had been in early May, that has been discounted by police. The last time she was seen by her family was at the family home in Durham for Easter.

Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane said: "Information has been received which has progressed this inquiry and we are now treating Carole's disappearance as a murder investigation.

"I am unable to go into further detail about the nature of the new information at this time, however, we now believe that Carole has not been seen alive since April 16. Since that time, significant plundering of her estate has taken place to the value of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"In addition to a number of fraudulent transactions associated with Carole's bank account there are also a number of her personal possessions that currently cannot be located.

"The jewellery that is missing is as follows: a Cartier ring, a white gold bracelet; a yellow gold bracelet and a yellow gold necklace, which are all in the same style."

Anyone with information can call 020 8721 4205 or CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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