The landlord of the Bristol landscape architect Jo Yeates has been released from police bail nine weeks after another neighbour was charged with her murder.
Christopher Jefferies, 66, a retired school teacher, was originally arrested on December 30 on suspicion of murdering Miss Yeates, who was found strangled on Christmas morning. Miss Yeates had been missing for eight days since attending a Christmas party with colleagues from the Bristol firm where she worked when she was found covered by snow by a couple out walking their dog.
Mr Jefferies was released without charge two days later but until last Friday police had not clarified his status as an official suspect even after another man was charged with the murder.
Yesterday friends of Mr Jefferies said he was “immensely relieved” that Avon and Somerset Police had finally cleared him of any involvement in the murder. Miss Yeates’s neighbour Vincent Tabak, 32, who was also a tenant of Mr Jefferies, is awaiting trial accused of strangling her and dumping her body in a lonely country lane three miles from their home in Clifton, Bristol.
Brian Worthington, also a retired school teacher and a close friend of Mr Jefferies who spoke to him at the weekend, said: ‘’I was told by him that he had been released and he was immensely relieved and really pleased. Maybe now he can get on with his life.
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‘’He has a lot of very good friends that have given him tremendous support and believed immediately in his innocence since he was arrested.
‘’Everybody has been puzzled as to why it hasn’t happened sooner. Everybody around him expected his bail to be lifted. I don’t know if he is angry at the police - he is being advised by his solicitors on what to do and say next. He is just immensely pleased - and what else do you expect him to be?’’
Mr Jefferies has been staying with friends since his arrest and last week put his flat directly above Miss Yeates’s basement flat on the market. He has told friends he needs to make a “fresh start”.
Neighbours said yesterday that they never doubted his innocence. One said: ‘’He has been back to the flat a few times but I don’t think he has taken up residence again.’’
Mr Jefferies is believed to be considering suing the police over the way the arrest was handled. The neighbour said: ‘’He is now exploring various options after the extremely traumatic experience he has gone through. Obviously someone in his position has faced a great deal of uncertainty about his future.”
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A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police refused to discuss the case. The force issued a one-line statement saying: ‘’We can confirm a 66-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder was released without charge on Friday, March 4.’’
Mr Jefferies, a former head of English at Clifton College, is hoping to get £245,000 for his spacious one-bedroom flat. Photographs in the property particulars show no sign of the detailed police examination of the flat after his arrest.
Hydes Estate Agents describe the property as a ‘’particularly large’’ flat in an ‘’imposing detached Victorian property’’ but make no mention of the investigation.
The sales brochure says: ‘’The subject property is excellently located on a quiet residential road within easy walking distance of Clifton Village, which has a wide range of shops, boutiques and restaurants.
‘’Other benefits include a very spacious lounge (23’2’’ by 17’2’’) and bedroom, and the potential, subject to the necessary consents, to convert into a two-bedroom apartment.
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The property also benefits from a dedicated off-street car-parking space.’’