Man arrested over body dumped in suitcase

A man was arrested on suspicion of murder today following the discovery of a woman's body dumped in a suitcase on farmland.

The heavily-decomposed remains of Leah Questin were discovered in the case in a dried-up pond on farmland off Buckland Road in Cliffe, near Rochester, Kent, last Thursday.

The 37-year-old care worker, of Sneyd Road, near Cricklewood, north London, was originally from the Philippines.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a 35-year-old man was arrested at an address in Lewisham, south east London, early this morning on suspicion of murder and remains in custody at a north London police station.

Results of a post-mortem examination carried out on Friday proved inconclusive and forensic tests are going on to establish the cause of death.

Ms Questin was reported missing by a friend at around midday on September 12 after last being seen at her home address.

Detective Chief Inspector, Peter Lansdown, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, based at Hendon, said: "As a result of inquiries into Leah's disappearance, we have established through CCTV footage, that she travelled alone on the 172 bus in the area of Elephant and Castle and was heading south.

"She boarded this bus on the New Kent Road shortly after exiting Elephant and Castle underground station.

"It is still not clear where she was heading to.

"Leah is described as 4ft 11ins tall with a petite build. She has a light complexion and long black hair. Leah was wearing a red top and blue jeans.

"I appeal to anyone who saw Leah in south east London or on the 172 bus or its route on Saturday 12 September to contact us.

"We also need to hear from anyone who may have seen her after September 12 and up until her body was found as we need to understand where she was going, who she was meeting and how she came to be murdered."

The investigation was handed over to the Met after initially being dealt with by Kent Police.

Detectives earlier said they believed the body had been kept elsewhere before being dumped at the remote spot, known locally as the Old Pond.

Ms Questin's body was found by a dog walker at 1.30pm last Thursday,

Det Chief Insp Lansdown added: "We continue to liaise with our colleagues at Kent Constabulary and I would like to thank them for their work during the early stages of this inquiry."

Anyone with information, should call the incident room based at Hendon on 020 8358 0200 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.