Police name man wanted for murder (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Police name man wanted for murder

Hugo QuintasPolice have officially named missing Portuguese factory worker Hugo Quintas as being wanted for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Hayley Richards.

Hayley, 23, was found at her house, in Trowbridge, with her throat slit on Saturday, June 11.

Quintas, pictured, also 23, has not been seen in the UK since that day.

Det Supt Mike Veale said at a news briefing at Melksham Police Station: "As a result of extensive inquiries conducted by my team, I am naming Hugo Quintas as being wanted for the murder of Hayley Richards."

Mr Veale said that a European arrest warrant had been issued for Quintas, who is believed to be in Spain.

"It is known he boarded a plane from Bristol Airport that Saturday afternoon bound for Portugal," Mr Veale said.

"His present whereabouts are unknown, but my inquiries are focusing in Portugal and in Spain."

Mr Veale said Quintas shared a house in Trowbridge.

The house and Hayley's flat have been forensically examined, he said.

Mr Veale, who is trying to piece together her final movements, said he knew Hayley went to work at a restaurant in Trowbridge on Friday June 10.

She left the restaurant with her mother Christine, who also works there, he said.

They were driven home by a work colleague, who dropped Hayley off at her flat which she entered alone at 11.15pm, Mr Veale said.

"I believe Hayley was murdered in her flat," he said.

Mr Veale said he particularly wanted to hear from anyone who had seen an L-registered black Rover 200 Sly car, which has now been seized, in the Trowbridge area in the days leading up to the murder.

A Portuguese dairy worker Joaquim Sergio Da Cunha, 29, of Trowbridge, has remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of perverting the course of justice following the murder.

He is accused of cleaning a property in Trowbridge and cleaning clothes he believed would assist police in their investigation of Hayley Richards's murder.

Cunha is also accused of making false statements, Chippenham Magistrates' Court heard.

Cunha was remanded in custody to appear at Swindon Crown Court on June 24.