Police tell coroner’s court that death of Hull student has been declared a homicide inquiry

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Forensic investigations into the death of Libby Squire are continuing following the discovery of the university student’s body seven weeks after she went missing, an inquest has heard.

Police told Hull coroner’s court that her death had been declared as a homicide inquiry and that a man remained under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of abduction last month.

The 21-year-old was found dead in the Humber estuary on Wednesday afternoon. She had been missing since the early hours of Friday 1 February after an evening out in Hull, and her disappearance sparked an intensive search.

Opening the inquest on Monday, the coroner, Prof Paul Marks, said Squire was pronounced dead “on March 20 near Spurn Head, at the mouth of the River Humber, in the East Riding of Yorkshire”.

A statement was read to the inquest by Catherine Land, an identification expert from West Yorkshire police, which confirmed Squire had been identified by her fingerprints.

Det Supt Martin Smalley of Humberside police said: “Postmortem forensic investigations are still ongoing. It’s now been declared a homicide investigation.”

Smalley said Squire was refused entry to the Welly nightclub on 31 January and was last seen at about midnight near Haworth Street and Beverley Road, with no sightings after that time.

He said Pawel Relowicz was arrested on 6 February “in relation to her kidnap” and remained under investigation. The detective added that Relowicz, 24, has been charged with a variety of other offences, including burglaries, voyeurism and outraging public decency.

Smalley previously said a postmortem had taken place, but officers would not be releasing any results for investigative and operational reasons.

Marks said police were not yet in a position to release Squire’s body to her family due to the continuing investigations. He offered his condolences as he adjourned the inquest to a later date.

On Saturday, Squire’s mother described her family’s heartache at the loss of her daughter. In an emotional tribute, Lisa Squire referred to her daughter as “Pie” and said she had lost “one of the four most precious things in my life”.

Writing on Facebook, she said: “I cannot thank you enough my darling Pie for making me a mummy. For choosing me to be your mummy. It’s an honour, a privilege and a joy.

“I kept you safe for as long as I could and I am so sorry I could not keep you safe on that night. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

Relowicz, from Hull, has been remanded in custody charged with 12 offences unrelated to the investigation into Squire’s disappearance.

He is due to go on trial in Sheffield in July.