WOOTTON MURDERS: Getaway vehicle found in London

Forensics officers examine the Corsa

A car believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle by quadruple murder suspect Anxiang Du has been found.
Northamptonshire Police today revealed that the silver Vauxhall Corsa, the subject of a nationwide search over the past week, has been found in Westminster in London.
It was discovered by Metropolitan Police officers at 1.30pm yesterday (May 11) following a tip-off by a member of the public. The rental vehicle had been hired by 18-year-old Northampton High School student Xing Ding, before she was stabbed to death along with her father, mother and sister on Friday, April 29.
Her body, along with that of Jeff Ding, 47, Helen Chui, 46, and Alice Ding, 12, were found by Northants Police in their home in Pioneer Close, Simpson Manor, Wootton on May 1.
Prime suspect Anxiang Du, 52, who is believed to have fallen out with the Dings over a business deal, has been missing since leaving his home in Coventry on the same day.
He travelled by train to Northampton on the same day the Dings were killed and is believed to have escaped in the Corsa.
The car was located in Venables Street in Westminster, off Edgeware Road in St Johns Wood.
Officers were also alerted to an ANPR reading of the vehicle from the day of the murder. This information only became available almost a week later, on Thursday, May 5, for what police are calling 'technical reasons'.
The vehicle had activated cameras on motorway ANPR, at the services, on Junction 15a of the M1.
Forensic investigations have been searching the vehicle for clues since it was returned to Northamptonshire.



Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins, leading the murder investigation, said: "Thanks to a member of the public coming forward and the support of the Metropolitan Police Service, we have been able to locate the missing Vauxhall Corsa in the North West area of London.
"We believe the vehicle, which was parked in an urban area of residential and commercial premises, had been there for some time and had been subject to parking enforcement.
"The vehicle was locked and there did not appear to be anything immediately visible within the car. It has now been retrieved and bought back to Northampton and is subject to forensic examination.
"I want to appeal to anyone who saw the vehicle in the London area to come forward.
"We are now working on the theory that the Ding family was murdered between 3pm and 4pm on Friday, April 29.
"We now know that the Vauxhall was picked up on an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) check at approximately 10.15pm on the Friday in Northampton.
"There is gap between 4pm and 10.15pm on Friday, April 29, when we believe the vehicle was in the Northampton area but need any witnesses to call us if they saw the vehicle or the suspect Mr Du during that time.
"The discovery of the car in London reinforces our assumption that Mr Du left a ‘goodbye’ note, in order to go on the run.
"We will be focusing our enquiries in the London area over the next few days, however it is still entirely plausible that Mr Du may have used public transport to travel to any location in the country.
"We will be conducting house to house enquiries in the area the vehicle was found as well as viewing any CCTV footage. Leaflets translated into Mandarin will also be circulated in key locations.
"We still urge anyone who may have seen the car or Mr Du since April 29 to contact the police or Crimestoppers."
Officers are still searching for the murder weapon and the clothing worn by Mr Du.
Witnesses to this incident, or anyone with information, should call Northamptonshire Police on 03000 111 222 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.