DETECTIVES hunting the killer of Moira Jones, who was sexually assaulted, beaten, robbed and dumped in a Glasgow park, are investigating remarkable similarities to an earlier rape and robbery of another woman nearby.

With 200 police officers across the city involved in the inquiry into the 40-year-old businesswoman's murder, and the unconnected killing of Greek-born restaurant manageress, Eleni Pachou, 25, the Sunday Herald can reveal that officers are examining the brutal rape of a woman six weeks before Moira's body was found.

The 43-year-old was forced off a street near Langside Road, which is only several hundred yards from Moira's home in the Queen's Park area, into the deserted building site of the new £100million Victoria Infirmary. She was beaten, sexually assaulted and left unconscious after the attack between 10.30pm and 11pm on Thursday, April 3. The woman later recovered sufficiently to cross the road to report the incident to staff in the existing hospital.

Moira was sexually assaulted after a struggle with her attacker or attackers, who also beat and robbed her of her handbag and removed rings from her fingers. Police, who refuse to say how she died, believe she was set upon after parking her black Toyota RAV4, registration RF04 FBV, outside her flat at 54 Queens Drive, at around 10.45pm on Wednesday, May 28.

She was returning from spending the evening at her partner, Paul Thompson's flat 15 minutes away in Cranstonhill. Her partially-clothed body was found by a park ranger in bushes at 9.45am the following day.

Police investigating both cases have been hampered by a lack of apparent sightings of both incidents and no passing motorists came to either woman's assistance.

A source said of the earlier attack: "It was horrific. He raped her and took her handbag containing a wallet, house keys and mail were in the bag - so the attacker would have known where she lived. It is interesting that such a similar attack to the Moira Jones murder happened so close to the scene and only a few weeks earlier.

"The woman was knocked out by the ferocity of the beating and was lying there for quite some time after her attacker left. She doesn't remember how long. When she came around got herself across the road to the hospital."

The suspect in the first case is described as white, aged 20-29-years-old, and with a slim build. He wore dark clothing and a dark baseball cap. Police in the Moira Jones have not released any description of a suspect, despite appeals to passers-by who may have seen the struggle as she was forced across a road into the park.

Strathclyde Police said officers were aware of the earlier attack and were examining it in connection with Moira's murder. A spokeswoman said: "Inquiries are ongoing with this case and we are investigating all possibilities. All serious incidents near the centre of Queen's Park will be examined as part of a wider police investigation."

It has also been claimed that all the male residents of two private accommodations for homeless people have been ruled out of the murder inquiry.

Detectives have made several visits to take DNA-swabs and confirm the identities and whereabouts of all 36 male residents on the night Moira died at the Queen's Park Hotel, which borders the north-east side of the park in Balvicar Drive, and neighbouring private rented accommodation for homeless families owned by the same private landlord.

The management said no residents had fallen under suspicion or been so far taken away for questioning to a police station, although police were still examining the hotel's entire CCTV system. Newspapers have speculated Moira may have been killed by a resident or out of revenge for her involvement in a campaign to close the Parkview hostel, close to her home.

Senior porter John Logan said: "The police have been here a number of times and taken mouth swabs from the residents in the rooms to find out if anyone matches the DNA on Moira's body. They also had to prove their identification was correct to the officers.

"The police have been in and out of here. Everybody booked in here at the time has been spoken to, but nobody has been arrested or taken for questioning. I'm relieved nobody did it from here. Sometimes you can fear the worst about people, but not many of our residents would have reason to venture to the side of the park where Moira was attacked."

Logan added that had CCTV cameras at the front, side and rear of the shut Parkview hostel, which is next to Moira's home, were dismantled after workmen moved into refurbish the property. He added: "Moira may still have been murdered if the cameras were up and running, but the police would have had vital footage of the scene."

Police have also taken possession of tapes from personal CCTV systems that some residents keep to protect their property and vehicles. The investigation team is currently scanning the tapes for signs of anyone behaving suspiciously in the area.

Police have also been handing out leaflets to the public to focus their attention on specific aspects of the high-profile investigation into Moira's murder, which followed the almost unprecedented questioning of 1700 motorists, 80 taxi drivers and 405 pedestrians last week. It asked people if they knew Moira, were in the area at the time of the attack and murder or saw anyone acting or behaving suspiciously, walking and running.

One officer said: "The reason we're getting such a good response is that people are very shocked by the particularly brutal nature of the murder. Handing out leaflets is part of the campaign to separate the facts from the fiction.

"It's very easy to get caught up in speculation and people must know the facts about what happened. We have still a lot of CCTV to run through and we have a lot of tapes from private homes in the Queen's Park area which will be useful."

The Sunday Herald understands that Moira's family have close to links to the police. Moira's late grandfather was an inspector in Dundee City Police and a cousin is believed to be an officer with Tayside Police. Her mother Beatrice Jones, 67, originally from Tayport in Fife, and her father Hugh, 67, are not returning to their Staffordshire home as they attempt to help the inquiry, and are being assisted by family liaison officers.

The victim's aunt said Moira, who moved to Glasgow from London five years ago, loved visiting her family's roots and added: "I found out in a phone call from Beatrice that she had been murdered. It is so hard to take in. Moira had a wonderful time when she came up here and the family want to do anything they can to catch whoever did this."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 0141 532 5025, send texts to 07800 009554 or email MoiraJonesInquiry@Strathclyde.pnn.police.uk or, alternatively, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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