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Detectives hunting the killer of a boy whose torso was found in a river believe he may have been the victim of a ritualistic murder. They believe the boy could be the first person in the UK to die in a "muti" killing of a kind known to have been practised in South Africa. The killings are done by witch doctors who use the victim's body parts for black magic potions.
South African pathologist Dr Hendrik Scholtz has carried out a second post-mortem on the body after being contacted by British detectives. He says wounds on the boys limbs and neck, and the nature of the discovery of his body, are consistent with a form of ritual killing. Police have revealed that they have found seven half-burned candles wrapped in a white sheet washed up on the southern shore of the River Thames in London.
A name - Adekoye Jo Fola Adeoye - was written on the sheet and the name Fola Adeoye inscribed on the candles.
The boy's torso, wearing orange shorts, was spotted floating in the Thames by a man walking across Tower Bridge last September and had been in the water for up to 10 days.
Forensic experts estimate that the boy, who was of Afro-Caribbean origin, was aged between five and six and has been given the name, "Adam", by detectives.
Police launched a national appeal for information following the discovery, but although this generated a huge amount of publicity, officers still have not been able to identify the body.
They have offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the murder.
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