Karen's "Cannibal killer" in court

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Karen's "Cannibal killer" in court


Karen Durrell's body still hasn't been found


By Sara Dixon

THE family of a woman, allegedly killed and eaten by her boyfriend in Spain, are finally seeing her suspected murderer come to trial after a three-year wait.

This week Spanish authorities announced that Paul Durant, also wanted in England on armed robbery charges, is going to stand trial for the murder of Karen Durrell on November 3.

The body of the mother-of-two, who lived near Repton Park in Woodford Bridge, has never been found and the 47-year-old former convict allegedly confessed he ate her saying God delivered her to him.

On hearing of the trial, due to go ahead in Alicante, southeast Spain, Ms Durrell's sister Jackie Wood said: "Whilst as a family we are pleased that a trial date has been fixed, we don't see that the court case will bring us any closure.

"The only way we can feel more at peace and move on in our lives is through understanding what happened to Karen and being able to bring her back to this country to rest in peace.

"We remain extremely upset by what has happened to Karen."

Karen Durrell moved to Spain in January 2004 to start a new life but within weeks she was dead, the only trace of her left on bloodstained knives found in her flat in the holiday hotspot of Calpe near Benidorm.

Convicted armed robber and fugitive from justice Durant was arrested by the Spanish authorities in March 2004. He then wrote to a newspaper confessing he was a cannibal who had killed and eaten the 41-year-old from Emsworth Road after God sent her to him.

He wrote: "I believed God had delivered her to me and I was getting messages from the telly. After I killed her, I cut her body into small parts, eating what parts of her I found eatable. I finally disposed of what was left in small rubbish bags."

Investigators spent weeks searching in the rubbish bins around Ms Durrell's Spanish home but failed to find her body, only discovering a blood stained suitcase of hers.

Paul Durant escaped from British police custody while at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel following his arrest on suspicion of armed robbery in December 2003.

He has never formally confessed to the killing and eating of Karen Durrell.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series