Police find vital clue to murder

By Brad Jones

April 6, 2000

A KILLER made a critical error of judgement when he tried to dispose of the naked body of transsexual Bryan Hooley in the sea off the Suffolk coast, murder squad detectives said last night.

Not enough weight was attached to the 28-year-old victim, who was wrapped in chains when found washed up on Kessingland beach one month ago, for his body to be claimed by the sea.

It has left detectives, who yesterday confirmed Mr Hooley’s death was being treated as murder, a number of clues in their search for the killer.

A second post-mortem examination has revealed the victim, of Roxwell, near Chelmsford, had been battered around the head with a “flat-surfaced” object.

It has also emerged the killer may have thrown the body into the sea at an isolated beach in Covehithe, less than four miles south of Kessingland, in a bungled attempt to hide the crime.

Mr Hooley’s killer had tied the body with chains threaded through three circular 2.5 kilogram weights and secured by padlocks.

But detectives revealed yesterday a fourth - and identical - weight had been found on the beach below cliffs at Covehithe last Thursday, by a man using a metal detector.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Braddy, who heads the inquiry, said: “We certainly don’t believe it is any kind of gangland killing by people who have experience of disposing of bodies.

“It is likely that the person who did this believed that the barbells constituted quite a lot of weight and would drag Mr Hooley’s body into the sea.  And that obviously wasn’t the case.”

Officers have been carrying out extensive inquiries in Covehithe following the discovery of the fourth 2.5 kilogram weight, inscribed with the words Spur Barbell.

Det Supt Braddy said: “At this stage it is impossible to say if this discovery indicates this was the place that Mr Hooley’s body was placed in the sea, or whether the weight was washed up here after coming free from the chains as the body was moved up the coast by the tide and currents.  But it is certainly a possibility.”

Mr Braddy said checks on the tides had revealed that Mr Hooley’s body was almost certainly placed in the sea south of Kessingland.

Police investigating Mr Hooley’s death initially refused to rule out suicide, but concluded yesterday he had been murdered following the results of the second post-mortem examination.

Divorced father-of-one Mr Hooley, who underwent a sex change operation in 1994, was probably dead before he entered the water, they added.  He had not been sexually assaulted.

Det Supt Braddy said: “As far as the head injuries are concerned, the tests indicate that at least one blow was struck around the head area with a flat-surfaced object.

“It does not appear tremendous force or a very heavy object was used.  There were injuries to the left side of the head, but they also extended to the side of the face, and from that we believe more than one blow was struck.”

Detectives said yesterday they were still trying to piece together the last week of Mr Hooley’s life, during which he had changed his lifestyle considerably.

Det Supt Braddy said: “Some change happened to Bryan around February 22 and 23 which we believe stopped him living at home.  Whether he had met somebody else or befriended somebody else, he does appear to have changed his lifestyle.  We do not know the reason why.”

Mr Hooley had lived a double life since his sex-change operation and became known as Christine Chappel - but still lived with his estranged wife Alison and was known to live both as a man and a woman.

Mr Hooley was last seen in Roxwell 48 hours before his body was found, and police are now anxious to discover who he was with during that time.

One theory detectives are working on is that the killer could be a bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast.

Det Supt Braddy said: “The problem is that these kind of barbells are so common that many people could have them at home.”

• Anyone with information should contact the incident room hotline on 01986 835144 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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