It was one of the saddest and most difficult press conferences. No one wanted to believe the body found in a West Sussex field on Monday was that of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, but when it was confirmed yesterday police officers, journalists and photographers stood in a moment's silence.
As a result of a post-mortem examination carried out on Monday at Worthing Hospital, Sarah Payne's death is being treated as a murder inquiry, Sussex police confirmed yesterday. She was identified from fingerprints.
Detectives declined to give detailed information about how she was killed. However, they believe it was not with a weapon. They think her body was hidden in the field on the first weekend of July after she went missing while on a family holiday 12 miles away near Kingston Gorse, West Sussex.
Assistant Chief Constable Mr Nigel Yeo said Sarah had been wearing a dark blue sports dress and black, shiny fabric shoes when she went missing, but when found she was naked.
"She was unclothed; the clothing we have yet to find. That's what we're looking for in the field," he said.
There had been a "physical attack". But there were no obvious injuries and he refused to comment on suggestions that Sarah was strangled or asphyxiated or that she had been sexually assaulted. It was not known whether she was killed at the scene or whether she was already dead when she was placed there.
Floral tributes were laid by members of the public at the edge of the field near Pulborough, where Sarah's body was found - one card read: "God Bless, Little Princess."
Mr Yeo said the investigation would be widened to interview local people. He urged people to report any suspicious activity on the A29, which runs past the spot where Sarah's body was found. He said the investigation would be stepped up to locate a white van seen by Sarah's brother, Lee (13), in the area when she disappeared.
The search for Sarah Payne began over two weeks ago after she disappeared near her grandparents' home. She had been playing with her brothers, Lee, Luke (11) and her sister Charlotte (6) at the beach near Littlehampton.
Police have received more than 10,000 telephone calls in connection with her disappearance and in the early days of the investigation two men were questioned and released.
Mr Yeo said the Payne family had been prepared for the worst news. "I think the parents have always been in a sense as pragmatic as they are strong, that there was a possibility that they would face this scenario. And in some ways it's better facing it almost this way than a process of elimination."
At about 12.15 p.m. Sarah's parents, Michael and Sara Payne, and her grandfather, Terry, paid a 20-minute private visit to the location where her body was found. The family placed lilies and an arrangement of white and lilac flowers at the location and spoke to police officers.
"They felt as part of their coming to terms with what has happened, as part of the grieving process, that they wanted to come and look at the location," Chief Insp Mike Alderson said. "You cannot imagine how terrible it is for them."
