Plea by uncles as fifth man is held in hunt for girl's killer

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: Faisal al Yafai
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 11.05.2005
• Subjects: Leneghan, Mary-Ann
• ISSN: 0261-3077

Thames Valley police said the man, in his 20s, had been arrested in London. Soon after, Paul and Tony Harris, the brothers of [Mary-Ann Leneghan]'s mother, faced the press in Mary-Ann's hometown of Reading and spoke of the family's grief. The Reading Evening Post reported a friend of Mary-Ann's as saying she had been mixing with the wrong crowd and feared she was getting into trouble. "One of my friends said she saw her on Friday and Mary-Ann said she was in 'big trouble' and was scared," the paper quoted Shanice Johnson as saying. Police declined to comment. At the spot in Prospect Park where Mary-Ann's body was found, a bench was covered in the striped red and grey ties of Prospect college, where she was a pupil, and an exercise book had been left into which condolences were written. Flowers and cards were strewn nearby. "I know u hated people being sad so every 1 is trying their hardest to stay brave just 4 u," read one. "We will always remember laughs and good times we had," said another. "It's so sad," said a man in the park. "That girl had her whole life ahead of her and they took it from her. They're animals, that's what you call them."