Jo Yeates did not know Vincent Tabak, says her father
The father of architect Joanna Yeates has revealed she did not socialise with the man arrested in connection with her murder and that as far as he knew "their paths never crossed".
Joanna Yeates, left, didn't know Vincent Tabak, right, according to Miss Yeates' father
Speaking from his home in Romney, Hampshire, David Yeates told of his hope that the police had arrested his daughter's killer, but said that neither she nor the boyfriend she lived with had ever mentioned Vincent Tabak.
He said: "I've seen him [Mr Tabak] just the once, I've never spoken to him. I didn't know his name, I didn't know what he did. Jo and Greg never mentioned him, they didn't socialise. As far as I know their paths never crossed. Their firms might have worked together but I have no idea about that – Jo never mentioned anything."
Mr Tabak, 32, lived with Tanja Morson, 34, his US-born financial analyst girlfriend, in a flat next door to the apartment which Miss Yeates shared with her boyfriend, Greg Reardon. The two flats in Canynge Road, Bristol, were even connected by a blocked-up doorway, but it has not previously been known whether the couples knew one another.
Mr Tabak, a Dutch architect who has been described as quiet, studious and polite, was arrested at 2am on Thursday after police investigating the murder reportedly received an anonymous telephone tip-off from a sobbing woman who had been moved by a television appeal by the parents of 25-year-old Miss Yeates.
Detectives had until late last night to charge or release Mr Tabak or to apply for an extension to his custody. If they used their full 96 hours permitted in law to question him, he would have to be charged or released by early tomorrow morning.
Officers arrested Mr Tabak in the top flat of a converted Victorian house in Cotham, Bristol, less than a mile away from the murder scene in Clifton.
The flat, in Aberdeen Road, is co-owned by Emily Williams, 31, a friend of Miss Morson's who has been travelling in Chile since early this month, and her sister Lucy Williams, who lives in London.
Michael Williams, the father of the two sisters, said that Mr Tabak's girlfriend had been anxious to move out of her own flat because of its proximity to the scene of the unsolved murder.
Speaking at his home in Magor, south Wales, Mr Williams told The Sunday Telegraph: "I know Emily was friends with Tanja. She worked with her a couple of years ago at Dyson. I don't know her circle of friends but I know of Tanja. Emily said Tanja was in the flat next door to Joanna Yeates. She mentioned Tanja and her boyfriend.
"I know Tanja said that Joanna was murdered and she didn't want to go back to her flat. Emily told me this before she went to Chile."
One neighbour in Canynge Road said she thought she had last seen Mr Tabak and Miss Molson "a few weeks ago", in contrast with earlier reports that she had not been seen in the area for months and that the couple may have split up.
Mr Tabak was often seen cycling in the Clifton area. Another neighbour said she was not aware that he had a car, adding: "I think he cycles to Clifton Down train station on his way to work in Bath."
Mr Tabak's arrest followed the filming of a BBC Crimewatch reconstruction, due to be screened on Wednesday, and an emotional appeal by Miss Yeates' parents, David, 63, and Theresa, 58. Both events have prompted over 300 calls from the public.
In the appeal, the bereaved couple said: "If you know something and do not come forward you are consciously hampering the apprehension of Jo's killer and the perpetrator is still free. You will also be prolonging the torment of Jo's family and friends."
The arrest as just the latest twist in Operation Braid, the police code name for the murder investigation.
Relatives of Mr Tabak yesterday told this newspaper that they are convinced he is not a murderer.
Speaking at her home in Doornenburg, near Arnhem, Pauline Tabak, the suspect's sister-in-law, said: "He is a kind, friendly, intelligent guy. He is well-educated and has a good family and a good job. He is not capable of murdering anybody – absolutely not. He is a sweet, gentle person.
"We can't say any more until Vincent gives us more information that he wants us to pass on.
But there is no way he murdered that young woman. We are totally convinced that he is innocent."
Tabak's brother, Marcek, who is separated from Pauline but lives nearby, also said Vincent Tabak was innocent. "I am shocked that he has been accused of murder," he said. "He is a nice man. They have got the wrong guy."
Local people in the Clifton area of Bristol also said they were surprised by the development.
Mandy Golledge, who runs The Mall Newsagent in Clifton, said she was stunned by the arrest and described Tabak as "gentle".
"Him and his girlfriend are a nice couple," she said. "They often came in on a Saturday for the paper.
"He seems like a very gentle, nice man. I haven't seen them recently but then locals have said he's been away since before Christmas.
"It's a bit of a shock, as everyone who has been in the frame is a customer of mine."
Since Mr Tabak's arrest on Thursday, another witness claims to have heard cries from the building where Miss Yeates lived on the night she was arrested. A resident in a building directly behind 44 Canynge Road has told police he heard a woman screaming "Help me" on the night Miss Yeates went missing.
Miss Yeates was last seen on the evening of Dec 17 when she left the Ram pub in the centre of Bristol at around 8pm after drinking with friends, to walk the 20-minute journey home to Clifton. Around 8.30 she is known to have used her mobile phone to ring her best friend Rebecca Scott and arrange to meet on Christmas Eve. Ten minutes later she stopped at a Tesco Express on Regent Street in Clifton, around a quarter of a mile from her home, where she bought a pizza. Police have since revealed that Miss Yeates did not eat the pizza, and the wrapping and the box are still missing.
She then visited an off-licence to buy some cider before returning to her flat. A receipt from Tesco was found in the flat along with a cream-coloured coat she had been wearing and her mobile phone and keys.
Mrs Yeates was officially reported missing by her boyfriend on Dec 19 after he returned to Bristol from a weekend away visiting relatives in Sheffield.
Over the next five days Mr Reardon and Miss Yeates' parents made a series of appeals for information, before dog walkers discovered her frozen body on Christmas Day.
Three days later an autopsy confirmed that Miss Yeates died of strangulation. On Dec 29, it was reported that Chris Jefferies, 65, her landlord, who lived in the same block of flats, saw her leave her home with two people on the night she disappeared. He later denied the sighting.
The following day, Mr Jefferies was arrested at his house at 7am on suspicion of murdering Miss Yeates and was taken to a police station for questioning. Detectives were subsequently granted more time to question him after it emerged that he helped Mr Reardon to start his car just hours before his girlfriend vanished.
A day later Mr Jefferies was released on police bail and detectives publicly warned women not to walk home alone after dark, stating that the killer remained at large.
On January 5th, police announced that Miss Yeates' body was found with a missing sock and also revealed that she was not wearing boots or coat but that these were found at her home in Bristol.
Two weeks later on Jan 21 it was reported that traces of DNA were found on the victim's breast, stomach and jeans and are thought to be from her attacker's saliva.
The DNA profiles may be able to rule out suspects but may not be sufficient to link them to a specific individual.
The flat, in Aberdeen Road, is co-owned by Emily Williams, 31, a friend of Miss Morson's who has been travelling in Chile since early this month, and her sister Lucy Williams, who lives in London.
Michael Williams, the father of the two sisters, said that Mr Tabak's girlfriend had been anxious to move out of her own flat because of its proximity to the scene of the unsolved murder.
Speaking at his home in Magor, south Wales, Mr Williams told The Sunday Telegraph: "I know Emily was friends with Tanja. She worked with her a couple of years ago at Dyson. I don't know her circle of friends but I know of Tanja. Emily said Tanja was in the flat next door to Joanna Yeates. She mentioned Tanja and her boyfriend.
"I know Tanja said that Joanna was murdered and she didn't want to go back to her flat. Emily told me this before she went to Chile."
One neighbour in Canynge Road said she thought she had last seen Mr Tabak and Miss Molson "a few weeks ago", in contrast with earlier reports that she had not been seen in the area for months and that the couple may have split up.
Mr Tabak was often seen cycling in the Clifton area. Another neighbour said she was not aware that he had a car, adding: "I think he cycles to Clifton Down train station on his way to work in Bath."
Mr Tabak's arrest followed the filming of a BBC Crimewatch reconstruction, due to be screened on Wednesday, and an emotional appeal by Miss Yeates' parents, David, 63, and Theresa, 58. Both events have prompted over 300 calls from the public.
In the appeal, the bereaved couple said: "If you know something and do not come forward you are consciously hampering the apprehension of Jo's killer and the perpetrator is still free. You will also be prolonging the torment of Jo's family and friends."
The arrest as just the latest twist in Operation Braid, the police code name for the murder investigation.
Relatives of Mr Tabak yesterday told this newspaper that they are convinced he is not a murderer.
Speaking at her home in Doornenburg, near Arnhem, Pauline Tabak, the suspect's sister-in-law, said: "He is a kind, friendly, intelligent guy. He is well-educated and has a good family and a good job. He is not capable of murdering anybody – absolutely not. He is a sweet, gentle person.
"We can't say any more until Vincent gives us more information that he wants us to pass on.
But there is no way he murdered that young woman. We are totally convinced that he is innocent."
Tabak's brother, Marcek, who is separated from Pauline but lives nearby, also said Vincent Tabak was innocent. "I am shocked that he has been accused of murder," he said. "He is a nice man. They have got the wrong guy."
Local people in the Clifton area of Bristol also said they were surprised by the development.
Mandy Golledge, who runs The Mall Newsagent in Clifton, said she was stunned by the arrest and described Tabak as "gentle".
"Him and his girlfriend are a nice couple," she said. "They often came in on a Saturday for the paper.
"He seems like a very gentle, nice man. I haven't seen them recently but then locals have said he's been away since before Christmas.
"It's a bit of a shock, as everyone who has been in the frame is a customer of mine."
Since Mr Tabak's arrest on Thursday, another witness claims to have heard cries from the building where Miss Yeates lived on the night she was arrested. A resident in a building directly behind 44 Canynge Road has told police he heard a woman screaming "Help me" on the night Miss Yeates went missing.
Miss Yeates was last seen on the evening of Dec 17 when she left the Ram pub in the centre of Bristol at around 8pm after drinking with friends, to walk the 20-minute journey home to Clifton. Around 8.30 she is known to have used her mobile phone to ring her best friend Rebecca Scott and arrange to meet on Christmas Eve. Ten minutes later she stopped at a Tesco Express on Regent Street in Clifton, around a quarter of a mile from her home, where she bought a pizza. Police have since revealed that Miss Yeates did not eat the pizza, and the wrapping and the box are still missing.
She then visited an off-licence to buy some cider before returning to her flat. A receipt from Tesco was found in the flat along with a cream-coloured coat she had been wearing and her mobile phone and keys.
Mrs Yeates was officially reported missing by her boyfriend on Dec 19 after he returned to Bristol from a weekend away visiting relatives in Sheffield.
Over the next five days Mr Reardon and Miss Yeates' parents made a series of appeals for information, before dog walkers discovered her frozen body on Christmas Day.
Three days later an autopsy confirmed that Miss Yeates died of strangulation. On Dec 29, it was reported that Chris Jefferies, 65, her landlord, who lived in the same block of flats, saw her leave her home with two people on the night she disappeared. He later denied the sighting.
The following day, Mr Jefferies was arrested at his house at 7am on suspicion of murdering Miss Yeates and was taken to a police station for questioning. Detectives were subsequently granted more time to question him after it emerged that he helped Mr Reardon to start his car just hours before his girlfriend vanished.
A day later Mr Jefferies was released on police bail and detectives publicly warned women not to walk home alone after dark, stating that the killer remained at large.
On January 5th, police announced that Miss Yeates' body was found with a missing sock and also revealed that she was not wearing boots or coat but that these were found at her home in Bristol.
Two weeks later on Jan 21 it was reported that traces of DNA were found on the victim's breast, stomach and jeans and are thought to be from her attacker's saliva.
The DNA profiles may be able to rule out suspects but may not be sufficient to link them to a specific individual.