By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 7:29 PM on 10th January 2011
- Police believe finding pizza box is key to her disappearance
- Letter referred to Jo and discussed pizza toppings
- Jo's Facebook friends are swabbed for DNA samples
- Friend said he received text from her at 8.20pm on December 17
- Police to overhaul investigation team and bring in 'wise old heads'
- Mobile phone signals used to trace suspects’ movements
- Jo's mother volunteers to play daughter in reconstruction
Letter: Jo was caught on CCTV buying a pizza from a Tesco Express on the night she disappeared
The note, scrawled in black ink on A5 paper, was sent to the Bristol Ram shortly after her snow-covered body was found on Christmas Day, it emerged today.
Jo was captured on CCTV buying a pizza before returning to her flat on December 17 - the night she disappeared.
The existence of the letter comes as detectives hunting Jo's killer begin taking DNA samples from her Facebook friends.
Officers are swabbing dozens of men, including some who live more than 100 miles from the murder scene. In a separate move, detectives were due to hold talks today about possibly overhauling the investigation team.
One suggestion is that ‘wiser, older heads’ could be drafted in to assist some of the younger detectives.
Police are also studying phone records after one of Jo's friends revealed that the landscape architect sent him a text at 8.20pm on December 17.
Jo had invited Matthew Wood out for a drink in the message but because he was at a Christmas party he didn't reply until 9.20pm.
He told The Sun of his subsequent anguish at the fact that Jo didn't reply, but police hope the new information will help them determine what time she was strangled.
A source today revealed that the letter sent to the Bristol Ram had a made-up address and telephone number and was not signed.
The note discussed different pizza toppings and stated Jo's name, although it does not make any direct reference to her murder.
Hunt: A detective holds a Tesco Finest pizza similar to the one Jo bought on the night she disappeared. A letter containing a pizza label was sent to the pub Jo had her last drink in
Although it is likely the letter was scrawled by a hoaxer, detectives have seized the package and said all leads would be followed up.
Landlord Alex Major confirmed the information was correct but said police had told him not to speak to the media about the matter.
However, a source said: 'I was in the pub when the police came but saw the letter before they took it away.
'As soon as I saw her name I realised it could be very important. The police were clearly interested.
'I could not see whether the label came from the same pizza that she is supposed to have bought.'
Miss Yeates was last seen alive enjoying after-work drinks with colleagues in the pub on Park Street on December 17.
She then walked back to her rented flat in Canynge Road, Clifton, and popped into a Waitrose store, a Bargain Booze shop and a Tesco Express on her way.
The landscape architect was reported missing by boyfriend Greg Reardon, 27, two days later when he returned home from a weekend away.
Family: Jo's father David, brother Chris and mother Theresa celebrate Jo's 18th birthday with her. Theresa has now offered to play her daughter in a filmed reconstruction of the night she was last seen alive
Miss Yeates' landlord Chris Jefferies, 65, a former teacher at Clifton College, was arrested on suspicion of murder on December 30 but released on police bail two days later.
Last Friday police retraced her final movements, speaking to more than 200 people in Failand, Clifton and at the Bristol Ram in Park Street.
Leading criminologist Professor David Wilson said he was not surprised the letter had been sent.
He said: 'I am inundated with letters about Joanna Yeates on almost a daily basis.
'What it reveals is that some stories have real resonance. In other words people connect with the story.
'Joanna Yeates was white, educated, professional, had loving parents and was in a relationship. She had also just finished celebrating Christmas with friends.
'Her story connects with people who read newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio.
Scene: Police cordon off Jo's flat in the Clifton area of Bristol. Landlord Chris Jefferies, who was questioned about her murder, lived above
Memories: Post-it notes are used to fill a book of condolence that has been set up at Christ Church in Clifton, Bristol, in memory of Jo
'My view is I would not worry too much about it, but of course police will have to investigate.'
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said all reports linked with the murder case were taken seriously.
Officers are convinced that Miss Yeates, who was missing for eight days before her body was found a short drive from her home on December 25, was killed by someone she knew.
The landscape architect had up to 200 Facebook friends. Police are also asking for background information about her life and her relationship with her boyfriend Greg Reardon.Miss Yeates’s neighbours in the affluent suburb of Clifton, Bristol, may also be asked to give DNA samples.
One of Miss Yeates’s friends, who lives more than 100 miles from Bristol and had not seen the 25-year-old for several weeks, had a swab taken from the inside of his cheek last week.
A MOTHER'S RE-ENACTMENT
Joanna Yeates’s mother has volunteered to play her daughter in a filmed reconstruction of the night she was last seen alive.
Theresa Yeates, 58, has been told by senior detectives of plans to stage a re-enactment to be broadcast in the next edition of BBC’s Crimewatch.
The programme is not due to air until the end of the month, which suggests police expect a lengthy investigation.
Mrs Yeates is a similar height and build to the 25-year-old.
Her husband David said: ‘My wife looks a bit similar to Jo and would like to take the part.’ But he said of the episode which airs on January 26: ‘I don’t know whether the police would involve us at all.’
Theresa Yeates, 58, has been told by senior detectives of plans to stage a re-enactment to be broadcast in the next edition of BBC’s Crimewatch.
The programme is not due to air until the end of the month, which suggests police expect a lengthy investigation.
Mrs Yeates is a similar height and build to the 25-year-old.
Her husband David said: ‘My wife looks a bit similar to Jo and would like to take the part.’ But he said of the episode which airs on January 26: ‘I don’t know whether the police would involve us at all.’
Officers asked him about her relationship with Mr Reardon and whether she ever mentioned somebody taking an unusual interest in her.
They also wanted to know if anybody had seemed ‘weird’ or been overly friendly.
The friend said: ‘I spoke to the police on the phone when she was a missing person and gave a bit of background.
‘Last week they gave me a call and wanted to speak to me again. I hadn’t seen Jo for weeks, but was happy to help.
They wanted to know my movements on the night she was last seen even though I was on the other side of the country.’
He added: ‘The main thing they wanted was background on her friendship circles and her relationships with people.
‘The officer asked about people on the periphery of her friendship group and if anyone had ever confided having a soft spot for her. I didn’t know much about that and nobody really ever talked about Jo like that.
‘As for her relationship with Greg, it was solid, they were happy and a great couple.
‘At the end of the interview they wanted me to provide a DNA sample. I thought it was odd, but they said it was routine and they’d be asking all her friends for it.’
Even the Lord Mayor of Bristol’s staff could be asked to provide samples as his official residence is only 60ft from Miss Yeates’s rented basement flat.
TRACKED BY PHONE?
Officers are tracing signals from potential suspects’ phones to see where they were on the night she vanished.
The technology shows which phone mast a mobile was picking up a signal from at a particular time, even if it was not used for calls or texts.
One phone mast provides signals for Clifton, where Miss Yeates was last seen alive, and another provides signals for Failand, north Somerset, where her body was dumped.
If the killer’s mobile was on, it will have picked up signals from both.
A source said: ‘This is one line of inquiry and could be crucial in checking out people’s alibis.’
Avon and Somerset Police insist they are ‘happy’ with the progress of the investigation.
But a source said: ‘A meeting has been called at the highest level to address major concerns.
‘There is a growing feeling that the inquiry team has too many young detectives on it.
The longer the investigation goes on, the bigger the need for some old hands and detectives with 25 or so years of experience.’
The source continued: ‘Some of the more experienced detectives in the force were actually involved at the start of the case but then taken off it. These are talks designed to rectify the situation.’
A force spokesman denied that an overhaul of the team was being planned.
There have been calls for DNA testing to be extended to the whole of Bristol.
But last night Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, said: ‘I would support extended DNA testing if it was something the police wanted to do. But it is a police operational matter and they should make the decisions based on what they know.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345764/Joanna-Yeates-murder-Anonymous-letter-scrap-pizza-box-posted-pub.html#ixzz1AfDEQIKn
