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Mini Bonus Episode - The Murder of Zoe Parker
Just before Christmas, 2000, a horrific discovery was made by the edge of the river Thames in London—The severed torso of a woman.
It did not take long for the police to identify the victim as 24-year-old Zoe Parker, but to this day, we still do not know who took her life.
Zoe Louise Parker—also known as Cathy Dennis—grew up in Hounslow. Her parents reportedly separated when she was just three months old. Aged 18 months, Zoe was taken into care and spent her childhood in foster homes, causing some trouble by being aggressive. Zoe had learning difficulties and had been “in and out of institutions.”
Despite her issues, Zoe was a very social person and often connected with strangers and fellow homeless people alongside her clients that she had working as a prostitute. However, working is not necessarily the right word, as Zoe offered sex when she was desperate—for attention or somewhere to sleep. Zoe’s aunt, Pauline Knott, once said:
“She used to go up and talk to the wrong people. She was quite lonely and would talk to anybody to make a friend. She was very naive. Very gullible. If someone came across as being quite nice that, was it. She wanted to trust people.”
Zoe had a very erratic lifestyle—she moved around west London, between Isleworth, Feltham, Hounslow and then sometimes to the West End. In 1995 she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and treated at Waddon Court. Later in 1998, Zoe was convicted of assault and sent to jail for a while. All this time, the young woman had minimal contact with her family.
The last time Pauline saw her niece was September 2000, when Zoe had been thrown out of a hostel for breaking the rules. This time Pauline did not have time to help as she was on her way to visit a grandchild in the hospital, and so, she asked Zoe to go to her mother or social services—which the young woman did not want to do. Frustrated, Zoe began drifting again. And then, she disappeared.
But with nobody to miss her, Zoe was never listed as a missing person.
On December 17, 2000, around 11:30 AM, a dismembered torso of a young woman was discovered in the water between two moored barges at Battersea, west London, by the owner of Landrail Houseboat. The body had been cut in half at the waist, and only the upper half was recovered. It seemed that the victim had been strangled first, but otherwise, there was little to work with. As DCI Ian Mill said:
“We don’t know where she was murdered, or where along the Thames her body was dumped, or how long she’d been in there.“
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However, there was one detail that helped the investigators enormously to find out who the victim was—a tattoo of a rose. The red rose was located on the left arm, and it had a name on it: Zoe.
Along with details of the tattoo, the police published a description of the victim in London papers:
“White woman between 5ft. 3 in. and 5ft 7in. tall. Slim to medium build and could have been in the Thames River since November 25.”
Soon enough, someone recognized the tattoo from the photographs and contacted the police, identifying the victim as Zoe Parker.
An investigation, called Operation Sidbury, was launched, and soon enough, the police learned that Zoe was last seen with two men in the Treaty Centre in Hounslow on CCTV on December 6. She was also seen in CCTV footage in the HMV store in Hounslow, where she would go to listen to music. The two men were described both being white, with dark hair, one was wearing a white casual jacket with dark trousers and white trainers, and the other one had dark clothing and stocky build. However, despite the CCTV footage, the identities of these men remain a mystery.
During the investigation, the police concluded that Zoe’s body had most likely been in the water for between one and three weeks and was dumped anywhere between Teddington and the Thames estuary. It is hard to say if the lower part of the body was also dumped into the river or somewhere else —the strength of the current makes underwater searches almost impossible in The Thames River. The only thing we do know is that Zoe’s lower body has never been found within the last two decades.
The police have had some leads, and during the investigation, at least five men were arrested on suspicion of murdering Zoe, but no charges have ever been filed. Detective Inspector Ian Mill said that trying to solve Zoe’s murder has been challenging due to many factors:
“We’re taught that when we investigate crimes, we’re looking at the victim, suspect and location. In this case, the suspect and location have been removed. We don’t even have all the information about the victim.“
Officers have appealed for a woman called Carmen or Carmen from the Hounslow or Isleworth area, who may have been a friend of Zoe, but it is unknown if this woman was ever located. Today, Zoe’s case is freezing cold.
Pauline has said the family had been devastated by her niece’s murder:
“I will never be able to get what happened to her out of my head. It’s sick, absolutely sick. Please try to remember, someone must have seen her. Anything you remember may help us to understand, to try to resolve this terrible thing that has happened to our sad and lonely Zoe.”
Zoe’s mother, Jacqueline, also gave a statement:
“Zoe was a loving, caring daughter who meant the world to me. She did not deserve this. Please come forward.”
Now, more than 20 years later, someone with information coming forward might be the only way the murder case of Zoe Parker will ever be solved. Was she killed by a client, or was she a victim of a serial killer? We might never know.
SOURCES
Police reveal chaotic life of murder victim
Police hunt killer of dismembered woman
Zoe murder police make new arrest
Help police in hunt for Zoe’s murderer
Gruesome unsolved murder of Hounslow’s Zoe Parker whose torso was dumped in Thames