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Zoe Parker

Age: 25

Sex: female

Date: 28 Dec 2000

Place: River Thames, Chelsea Harbour

Zoe Parker was murdered and cut up. Her torso was found in the River Thames near Chelsea Harbour.

It was thought that she had been cut in two. The upper part of her body was found in mud in the river between two moored barges, whilst the lower parts have never been found. It was thought that she had been strangled and that her body had then been cut in two with a sharp blade.

She was identified by a tattoo with her name on it and by an unusual twisted front tooth. Her remains were also identified by relatives.

Police said that they didn't know where she was murdered or where her body was thrown into the river but thought that she had gone into the river between Isleworth and Battersea.

She was also known as Cathy Dennis and worked as a casual prostitute, mostly around Isleworth, Feltham and Hounslow although sometimes she went into the West End.

She went missing on 17 December 2000 and her dismembered body was found 11 days later on 28 December 2000. She was last seen with two men in the Treaty Centre in Hounslow on CCTV. She was also seen in CCTV footage in the HMV store in Hounslow where she would go to listen to music.

The first man was described as white with dark hair and had been wearing a white casual jacket with dark trousers and white trainers.

The second man was described as white with dark hair, a stocky build and had been wearing dark clothing.

Neither men were ever identified.

Zoe Parker's remains had been dressed in a yellowish CatchOne T-shirt and white Adidas trainers. It was thought that she might have been wearing those clothes when she was murdered.

Zoe Parker had learning difficulties and had had a troubled childhood and been in and out of institutions. In 1995 she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and treated at Waddon Court and later in 1998 she was convicted of assault and sent to Holloway Prison.

She was described as very trusting and would often start conversations with strangers.

When police examined her background, they found that she had associates all over London and would travel across the country. The police said that they had sightings of her in Bournemouth and Colchester but that the last sighting of her was in Hounslow town centre. They said that she would spend time in Hounslow and Feltham, staying at hostels or friends' flats and it was thought that she had also sleeping rough. They said that she would also turn to prostitution when she needed money but said that it wasn't thought that she made her living through prostitution on a regular basis. The police said for example, she would meet men in pubs and offer them sex in exchange for a place to stay for the night.

The police investigation into the murder of Zoe Parker was called Operation Sidbury.

A couple of months later the remains of Paula Fields were found in six bags dumped in the Regent's Canal in Camden although her murderer was later convicted.

Nine months later the torso of Patrick Erhabor was also found in the River Thames, a case which remains also unsolved.


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