Convent schoolgirl found dead in north London

A murder inquiry has been launched after the semi-naked body of a teenage convent schoolgirl, Jessie Wright, was discovered just yards from her home.

By Andrew Hough
Published: 6:07PM GMT 05 Mar 2010

The 16 year-old's body was found dumped in a disused alley near Kings Cross station, north London.

Family and friends have paid tribute to the pupil from Maria Fidelis Catholic school in Camden, one of the capital's oldest convent schools.

Friends said she had just recovered from surgery after fluid was discovered on her brain.

A 19 year-old man, named locally as Zak Bush and believed to be the girl's boyfriend, was being questioned by detectives at a North London police station in connection with her death.

It remains unclear how she died, but detectives are investigating whether she fell, or was pushed, from a balcony.

A police source said her fatal injuries were consistent with someone who had suffered a fall.

It is understood that her semi-naked body was found on Thursday afternoon by council workers just yards from her home in Islington, north London, where she lived with her grandparents.

Sources said there had been no attempt to hide the body, which was found at the end of the alleyway, a short distance from a disused York Road underground station.

There were no obvious signs of sexual assault but the girl's clothes appeared to be have been disturbed.

A post mortem is to take place later but police confirmed that marks appeared to have been left on her body.

Carla Wright, her aunt, said: "My brother is going through hell. I feel like this is not happening.

"She was a lovely girl. I will always remember her as a beautiful young girl who has had her life taken away from her.

"She was very bubbly and she was a happy girl. She was a lovely girl and she had a heart of gold."

Her grandmother, Marian Lucraft, 57, declined to comment at the family home.

Tearful groups of family and friends, some dressed in school uniform, arrived at the scene with notes and flowers on Friday.

One family member, who did not want to be named, said: "She was the most beautiful girl you would ever see in the whole world."

Another said: "She was beautiful, She was a very kind and outspoken person, a bubbly girl.

"She had a heart of gold and was always happy. She would have put up a fight – I cannot believe we are talking about this. I have known her since we were about 12."

Another friend, Madeline Moloney, 15, from Holloway, north London said: "She was so kind and caring and always funny.

"She was like a sister to me. She was really close to her gran."

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "We retain an open mind at this early stage re the circumstances of the death."

They urged witnesses to come forward.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7378538/Convent-schoolgirl-found-dead-in-north-London.html