THE former personal assistant to the Duchess of York, who had been sought
by police after her boyfriend was found stabbed to death in London, was
arrested yesterday in Cornwall.
Jane Andrews, 33, who worked for the Duchess
for eight years, was in hospital in Plymouth last
night after being treated for a suspected overdose
of pills. Her condition is said to be stable and is
understood not to be life-threatening. Police
sources suggested last night that she might have to
spend two days in hospital before she could return
to London for questioning.
Four murder squad detectives have travelled from
London to liaise with Devon and Cornwall police.
Miss Andrews, a jewellery saleswoman, was being
sought after 40-year-old Thomas Cressman, her
boyfriend of two years, was found stabbed in the
chest at the house the couple shared in Fulham, west London, on Monday.
A national and international search ended at 6.45am yesterday when her car
was noticed in a secluded lay-by on the eastbound carriageway of the A38,
near Liskeard.
Miss Andrews, who rose from ordinary roots in Grimsby to become a trusted
aide to the Duchess, was believed to be asleep when she was found. Officers
became concerned because she appeared to be "sluggish". It is believed that
she had taken an overdose of painkillers. An ambulance was not called,
however, and she was taken by police to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth,
where she underwent medical tests.
Police were first alerted to Mr Cressman's death when an employee, Tim
Kent, was asked to enter the house by Mr Cressman's mother, who was
worried that she could not contact him. Mr Kent found his bloodied body,
dressed only in boxer shorts, in a bedroom. Police believe that he died on
Sunday or early on Monday and was attacked either when he was asleep or
preparing to go to bed. A post-mortem examination revealed that he died of
stab wounds.
Police were alerted that Miss Andrews was in Cornwall following a tip-off
from a member of the public in the area of St Ives, near Penzance, on
Tuesday evening. The resort is about 30 minutes' drive from where Miss
Andrews was arrested. It is not thought that she had friends in Cornwall. One
theory is that she was driving about with nowhere to go. Her car was towed
away and was due to be taken to London for examination.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: "On Tuesday, the
Metropolitan Police contacted the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and
gave the details of a vehicle being used by a lady they wished to interview.
Throughout the night searches were carried out by local officers in both
counties. At approximately 6.45am this morning uniformed officers
stop-checked a white VW Polo at Liskeard."
Police stressed that they wanted to talk to Miss Andrews about any
information that she could offer on the death. It is understood that detectives
are trying to establish the nature of the couple's relationship in the period
before the death and whether Miss Andrews had suffered any medical
problems.
The couple arrived back in London on Friday from a two-week trip to Italy
and France. It has emerged that on Saturday morning Mr Cressman made a
999 call to police seeking what Scotland Yard described as "advice/help re a
domestic dispute". The information was passed to Fulham police but Mr
Cressman said he "didn't want police to attend".
Mr Cressman was a classic car enthusiast who ran businesses supplying
high-quality furnishings for vehicles. In one venture, he marketed car-cleaning
kits with Sir Stirling Moss. His family said last night that they were still trying
to come to terms with the death. His eldest brother said in a statement: "With
great care and concern and respect for my family, the police are keeping us
informed of the progress of their investigation.
"At this stage, we all feel that sharing our grief together and being allowed
some space to collect ourselves and cope with the tragedy that we have
suffered is more important than making any comments which seem totally
inappropriate right now."
~*~
Prince Andrew works to halt child abuse(Yahoo: Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Andrew spoke on Thursday of his decision to spearhead a new
campaign to stop child abuse, saying the cycle of mistreatment of children had to be broken.
The 40-year-old father of two said he had accepted the position of chairman of the Full Stop
campaign, run by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), because
he could not sit by and do nothing.
"We have got to break the cycle of abuse," the Duke of York told the Express.
"I am trying to raise awareness and also raise 250 million pounds for the campaign."
Andrew, who shares the care of his two daughters with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, said the
campaign's aim of eradicating the physical and sexual abuse of children within a generation was achievable.
"We have to make sure our children don't accept abuse," he said.
"One of the ways we hope to achieve our aim is to educate everyone that abuse of children is wrong from the word 'go', from
when they are born, right the way through to when they have children themselves."
~*~
Snowdon's second marriage ends in divorce(Yahoo: Ananova)
Lord Snowdon's marriage to his second wife, Lucy, has ended in London's Divorce Courts.
The case of Armstrong-Jones L M v ACR was among a list of couples seeking a decree nisi under the
"quickie" procedure at the Principal Registry of the Family Division in London's High Holborn.
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 70, married film production assistant Lucy Lindsay-Hogg,
who is 14 years his junior, in December 1978 following his divorce from Princess Margaret the
previous May.
In April of the following year it emerged that she was expecting a baby, which was born prematurely
in July, 1979, and named Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones.
Previously married for four years to American film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Lucy was granted divorce on grounds of
adultery in 1971.
Earl Snowdon's career in photography has included the first photograph of Prince Harry, the second son of the Prince and
Princess of Wales, and his 16th birthday portrait.
The grandfather (of three) made the gossip columns in 1998 when, at the age of 68, he had an affair with Country Life
journalist Melanie Cable-Alexander, 35, who gave birth to his child.