Anfield cyclist murder: Woman in court

Mar 17 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A 25-year-old woman was last night charged with the murder of a woman stabbed to death in Liverpool as she rode her bicycle.

Rachel Jones, 26, from Anfield, was stabbed in Woodville Terrace on Friday night after getting into an argument with two women, Merseyside Police said.

Four women were subsequently arrested on suspicion of the murder.

Last night Louise Gardner, 25, of Mallow Road, Anfield, was charged with Miss Jones’s murder. She is due to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court today.

The three other women, aged 19, 25, and 49, were released on police bail.

The incident is not believed to be traffic-related and was not random, police said.

Detectives believe Miss Jones was cycling down nearby Whitefield Road when a car driven by a man with two female passengers pulled up alongside her.

An argument is thought to have broken out, and then Miss Jones tried to ride off.

She was chased by the car into Woodville Terrace, where the women jumped out and attacked her.

One is thought to have pulled Miss Jones off her bike and she was then stabbed repeatedly.

The attackers then got back in the car and made off towards Belmont Road.

Several youngsters are understood to have tried to help Miss Jones, and a distressed girl, aged around 14, called the ambulance and was hysterical as she covered the victim’s bloody body with her coat.

Their efforts were in vain and Miss Jones was declared dead at the scene by ambulance crews. A postmortem examination later revealed she had died from chest stab wounds to the chest.

Margaret Boye-Hlorkah, 52, who lives yards away, said: “My son went to the front door to see what the fuss was about and two very distressed girls asked him for some towels. They told us a girl on a pink bike had been brutally stabbed.

“One of the girls was completely hysterical.” Cecil Wood, 78, said: “I heard a commotion about 8.30pm and I looked out the window to see what the fuss was about.

“The street opposite was full of about 30 young people.

“It was manic and they all seemed to be crowding round something but I didn’t go out.

“I was too scared. I just can’t believe this has happened on my very doorstep. This place is getting worse.”

Police struggled at first to identify Miss Jones and had released details of distinctive tattoos on her body before she was officially named yesterday afternoon.

She did not have any personal ID on her, but there was nothing to suggest that any personal belongings had been stolen during the attack.

Det Ch Insp Richie Davies, of Merseyside Police, said: “This was a vicious and brutal attack on a young woman and I would appeal to anybody who has any information which could help us with our inquiries to contact us urgently.”

At the time of the attack Miss Jones was wearing a black Location tracksuit with a zipped jacket, a black T-shirt and red, black and silver Nike trainers. She was riding a black/light pink Universal Fusion mountain bike, which had a black seat with the word Universal written on it.

Witnesses should call police (0151 777 4065) or Crimestoppers anonymously (0800 555111).