Physique of man suspected of chemically attacking former accomplice pulled out of river, London police say

LONDON (AP) — London police mentioned Tuesday they “strongly imagine” that they’ve pulled out from the River Thames the physique of a person suspected of chemically attacking his former accomplice and her two younger daughters, leaving the lady hospitalized with life-changing accidents.

The Metropolitan Police mentioned the crew of a passing boat reported seeing a physique within the water close to the Tower of London on Monday afternoon. Detectives inspected the physique after it was recovered by the Met’s Marine Policing Unit and concluded it was that of 35-year-old Abdul Ezedi.

Three weeks in the past, police launched a nationwide manhunt for Ezedi, 35, after the attack in the Clapham area of south London on Jan. 31 that concerned a robust alkali. Photographs of Ezedi captured after the assault revealed he suffered vital accidents to the correct facet of his face.

On Feb. 9, the Met mentioned they thought Ezedi had probably “gone into the water” having watched closed-circuit tv pictures.

“Primarily based on the distinctive clothes he was carrying on the time of the assault and property discovered on his physique, we strongly imagine we’ve recovered the physique of Ezedi,” mentioned Commander Jon Savell on Tuesday. He added that formal identification by visible means, or through fingerprints, was not doable, given the time the physique remained in water.

“We are going to work with the coroner on different methods to finish formal identification, similar to DNA testing and dental information,” Savell mentioned. “That will take a while.”

Savell mentioned the situation of the 31-year-old mom of two has improved they usually hoped to have the ability to communicate to her as quickly as she is nicely sufficient. He mentioned she stays within the hospital in a steady situation however is now not sedated.

Police mentioned quickly after the assault that the 2 youngsters weren’t as badly injured as first feared.

British media reported that Ezedi is an Afghan refugee who was granted asylum regardless of being convicted of a intercourse offense in Britain in 2018. Ezedi’s asylum software was initially rejected, however later was permitted to stay within the U.Ok. after claiming that he had transformed to Christianity, the Day by day Telegraph newspaper reported.

The investigation into the assault remains to be ongoing.