Hannah Deterville

Hannah Deterville was stabbed to death at an unknown location and later dumped in woodlands on Horsenden Hill.

She had been stabbed 20 times in the neck and face, although she had not been sexually assaulted or had any of her jewellery or money taken.

She was found partially hidden in the woodland about three weeks after she went missing. It was thought that she had been murdered within 12 hours of going missing but that her body had been kept for several days before being dumped in the wooded area. The police said that it would have taken at least two people to have carried her body there.

Horsenden Hill was noted as a cruising ground for gay people and her body was first reported anonymously to the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. However, the police said that they were unable to trace the caller.

Hannah Deterville was last seen by her mother at around 7pm on 2 January 1998. She had lived on the Harrow Road in Queens Park, between Paddington and Harlesden. Her body was found on 27 January 1998.

It was said that she was street smart enough to not get in a car with a stranger and it was thought that she might have got into a car with someone that she knew.

She had been wearing jeans, a grey bomber jacket and red Reebok trainers.

The investigation into her murder was called Operation Maidstone.

Her mother had been a director of the Yaa Asantewaa community centre and would help out with the floats for the Notting Hill Carnival for which Hannah Deterville was said to have been a regular. Hannah Deterville was also said to have been well recognised along Harrow Road and on first name terms with many of the shopkeepers.

Throughout the investigation, five people were arrested, but no one was charged.

Hannah Deterville had been a student at the St Thomas More Catholic school in Chelsea where she had been studying for her GCSE exams.