UK- Two suitcases believed to contain human remains found, man seen acting suspiciously @ Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, 11 July 2024

[bringmeacupoft]

This is the strangest part for me after following so many cases on here. It could suggest CCTV guy doesn't live more than a bike ride away from the bridge.

I

Apparently someone chased him for a bit? I don't understand why. If I saw someone dump suitcases late at night by a bridge, I might snap photos if I could and call it in to police (especially since it seems like at least one suitcase was bloody!), but wouldn't I shout or chase the person - out of protection for myself. I wonder why the need to try to stop the person? Was something else going on? That is a bit puzzling to me.

jmo

Agree the cyclist chasing him felt odd. Witness stated that the cyclist came back past them after catching up with the suspect.

'Man chased by cyclist' - eyewitnesspublished at 16:28
16:28​

Mr Wright said he "heard commotion" behind him and saw a cyclist "chasing a man".

"I thought this was all strange and odd but tried to remain calm," Mr Wright said.

"I could see the cyclist had reached the guy down the hill and they had a quick interaction.

"We saw that and then turned around and walked back the way we came.

"Then the cyclist came back towards us alone when we got back to the Leigh Woods side of the bridge."

 

[indicolite22]

LBC, via Xhitter, has an interview with a man who witnessed the suitcases being loaded into the taxi outside the Mall pub, which is about a 3 minute walk from the Suspension Bridge.

I wonder if he wanted to go further but the taxi driver felt uneasy and chucked him out on the bridge... or if he just decided that two very heavy suitcases required a taxi over a very short distance

If the taxi driver did turf him out, it would make more sense - heading from Clifton village over the bridge takes you very quickly from a very wealthy suburb to rural areas. Much easier to hide a body in woodland etc.

If that was the plan, it would follow a similar pattern to Joanna Yeates in 2010 - murdered in Clifton village and dumped in woodland between Failand and Long Ashton. It took a good couple of weeks to find her.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1811423126347276301

This witness saw two men, one black and one white, exiting a car and carrying two large suitcases across the street (towards the witness), with a woman helping them. It was after 10:30. When did the incident on the bridge occur? Just before midnight?

 

[Tortoise]

LBC, via Xhitter, has an interview with a man who witnessed the suitcases being loaded into the taxi outside the Mall pub, which is about a 3 minute walk from the Suspension Bridge.

I wonder if he wanted to go further but the taxi driver felt uneasy and chucked him out on the bridge... or if he just decided that two very heavy suitcases required a taxi over a very short distance

If the taxi driver did turf him out, it would make more sense - heading from Clifton village over the bridge takes you very quickly from a very wealthy suburb to rural areas. Much easier to hide a body in woodland etc.

If that was the plan, it would follow a similar pattern to Joanna Yeates in 2010 - murdered in Clifton village and dumped in woodland between Failand and Long Ashton. It took a good couple of weeks to find her.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1811423126347276301

My understanding is that they were taking the cases out of the car and carrying them across the road by the pub. No idea if it was the taxi (apart from the text of the tweet, but the witness doesn't say that) but didn't the event at the bridge happen closer to midnight? Perhaps the driver of that car left and a taxi was called after that to take the suspect to the bridge.

 

[Inthedetails]

LBC, via Xhitter, has an interview with a man who witnessed the suitcases being loaded into the taxi outside the Mall pub, which is about a 3 minute walk from the Suspension Bridge.

I wonder if he wanted to go further but the taxi driver felt uneasy and chucked him out on the bridge... or if he just decided that two very heavy suitcases required a taxi over a very short distance

If the taxi driver did turf him out, it would make more sense - heading from Clifton village over the bridge takes you very quickly from a very wealthy suburb to rural areas. Much easier to hide a body in woodland etc.

If that was the plan, it would follow a similar pattern to Joanna Yeates in 2010 - murdered in Clifton village and dumped in woodland between Failand and Long Ashton. It took a good couple of weeks to find her.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1811423126347276301

What an odd encounter!

The man who brought the suitcases to the bridge might not be the only perp involved in this crime? Sounds like two men were moving the suitcases with help offered by a random woman (or did she know them?).

jmo

 

[bringmeacupoft]

This witness saw two men, one black and one white, exiting a car and carrying two large suitcases across the street (towards the witness), with a woman helping them. It was after 10:30. When did the incident on the bridge occur? Just before midnight?

Yes police were called 23:57

 

[Inthedetails]

I

Agree the cyclist chasing him felt odd. Witness stated that the cyclist came back past them after catching up with the suspect.

'Man chased by cyclist' - eyewitnesspublished at 16:28​

16:28​

Mr Wright said he "heard commotion" behind him and saw a cyclist "chasing a man".

"I thought this was all strange and odd but tried to remain calm," Mr Wright said.

"I could see the cyclist had reached the guy down the hill and they had a quick interaction.

"We saw that and then turned around and walked back the way we came.

"Then the cyclist came back towards us alone when we got back to the Leigh Woods side of the bridge."

I think we're still missing big chunks of information about what happened on the bridge (and obviously about what happened before the bridge).

jmo

 

[bringmeacupoft]

I think we're still missing big chunks of information about what happened on the bridge (and obviously about what happened before the bridge).

jmo

Seems like there were a few people around, hopefully the gaps will start to be filled.

 

[indicolite22]

Wouldn't a taxi driver find it odd to be asked to let the guy out on a bridge at midnight, with two large suitcases? There nothing normal about that request. OTOH, perhaps the suspect said that someone else would pick him up there.
If the suitcases were in the trunk of the taxi, perhaps the blood seeping out was not noticed until later.

 

[ST3anonymous]

I

Agree the cyclist chasing him felt odd. Witness stated that the cyclist came back past them after catching up with the suspect.

'Man chased by cyclist' - eyewitnesspublished at 16:28​

16:28​

Mr Wright said he "heard commotion" behind him and saw a cyclist "chasing a man".

"I thought this was all strange and odd but tried to remain calm," Mr Wright said.

"I could see the cyclist had reached the guy down the hill and they had a quick interaction.

"We saw that and then turned around and walked back the way we came.

"Then the cyclist came back towards us alone when we got back to the Leigh Woods side of the bridge."

Could the cyclist have thought the man was fly tipping and was apprehending him about it?
The suspect seems crazed, I’m sure not many people would approach him alone if they’d realised even slightly what was going on.

 

[bringmeacupoft]

Could the cyclist have thought the man was fly tipping and was apprehending him about it?
The suspect seems crazed, I’m sure not many people would approach him alone if they’d realised even slightly what was going on.

Good point.

I just can’t imagine myself doing that at night!

 

[Tortoise]

It's a strange detail for a woman stranger to start helping two men with the carrying of heavy suitcases, IMO.

 

[Luwin]

Wouldn't a taxi driver find it odd to be asked to let the guy out on a bridge at midnight, with two large suitcases? There nothing normal about that request. OTOH, perhaps the suspect said that someone else would pick him up there.
If the suitcases were in the trunk of the taxi, perhaps the blood seeping out was not noticed until later.

It's not the sort of bridge you could really stop a vehicle part way across to let someone out of either.

 

[MollyHarps]

Wouldn't a taxi driver find it odd to be asked to let the guy out on a bridge at midnight, with two large suitcases? There nothing normal about that request. OTOH, perhaps the suspect said that someone else would pick him up there.
If the suitcases were in the trunk of the taxi, perhaps the blood seeping out was not noticed until later.

It’s such a strange case none of it makes sense

I would take the bit though about blood seeping out the cases with slight caution - I think if blood was coming out the case he’d inevitably have got some on the large white rim on his trainers - from the picture further up of his shoes I can’t see anything on them

 

[indicolite22]

It seems that the action on the bridge started around 11:35:

One eyewitness described the scene which unfolded from around 11.35pm, and said the man, who is being hunted by police ran off down Burwalls, the residential lane leading down to Rownham Hill.

Eyewitness tells of moment man ran off after dumping body in suitcases

The man was challenged by bridge staff as he tried to drag two suitcases onto the bridge

www.bristolpost.co.uk

 

[bringmeacupoft]

It’s such a strange case none of it makes sense

I would take the bit though about blood seeping out the cases with slight caution - I think if blood was coming out the case he’d inevitably have got some on the large white rim on his trainers - from the picture further up of his shoes I can’t see anything on them

I thought he looked ‘clean’

This witness account does make it seem quite a gory scene

Everything we know so far after human body parts are dumped

A suspect is on the loose

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Pictures captured by the eyewitness, which Bristol Live has decided not to share, show a trail of blood close to the viewing area on the south side of the Leigh Woods tower.

 

[rightsaidfred]

It's a strange detail for a woman stranger to start helping two men with the carrying of heavy suitcases, IMO.

Lots of pubs in that area, lots of people drinking due to England winning the semi finals, and sometimes drunk people do odd things. Helpful women become helpful drunks who haven't given any critical thought to what's in front of them.

Doesn't need to be a particularly complicated explanation IMO.

 

[indicolite22]

The blood trail indicates that he was moving the suitcases on the bridge. How far apart were they found? Did he run away because he was stopped by the bridge workers? How would this end if they weren't there?

 

[Luwin]

The blood trail indicates that he was moving the suitcases on the bridge. How far apart were they found? Did he run away because he was stopped by the bridge workers? How would this end if they weren't there?

If he was struggling to drag/move the case he would definitely have struggled to lift it to get over the barrier on the side of the bridge

 

[indicolite22]

It's not the sort of bridge you could really stop a vehicle part way across to let someone out of either.

Perhaps he was dropped off before the bridge. One of the articles states that he was stopped while dragging the suitcases onto the bridge.

 

[Luwin]

Perhaps he was dropped off before the bridge. One of the articles states that he was stopped while dragging the suitcases onto the bridge.

Potentially yes but it would still be an odd request to be dropped that near the start of the bridge in the direction he was coming from as the taxi driver would not have anywhere to turn around - you have to pay to cross the bridge in a vehicle