Sussex man arrested over murders of two women more than 30 years ago

A Sussex man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering two women more than 30 years ago.
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The 66-year-old, of Heathfield, was detained by police on Thursday, December 3, in connection with the deaths of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Cold case detectives have arrested a man on suspicion of murdering two women from Tunbridge Wells more than 30 years ago.

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“The suspect, aged 66, from Heathfield, East Sussex, was detained on Thursday, December 3, in connection with the deaths of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987 and taken into custody.

A Heathfield man has been arrested in connection with the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. Picture: Kent PoliceA Heathfield man has been arrested in connection with the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. Picture: Kent Police
A Heathfield man has been arrested in connection with the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. Picture: Kent Police

“Wendy Knell, who was 25, was discovered dead in her bedsit in Guildford Road, Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday, June 23, 1987. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death.

“Five months later, on Tuesday, November 24, 1987, Caroline Pierce, aged 20, was murdered after being attacked outside her bedsit home in Grosvenor Park, Tunbridge Wells.

“Her body was found the following month, on December 15, in a field near St Mary in the Marsh, Romney Marsh.”

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The case has remained unsolved and subject to periodic reviews by cold case detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Families of both victims have been informed of the arrest and are being kept updated, police confirmed.