Beata Bryl: Police launch fresh appeal eight years on from her murder

Beata Bryl was brutally bludgeoned to death with a blunt object before her body was doused with accelerant and set alight in Wooburn Green.

She was last seen alive in Leytonstone underground station on July 28, 2006.

Her charred remains were discovered in woodland off Hedsor Lane the following day – sparking a massive police investigation to find her killer.

Chief Inspector Colin Seaton was then a Detective Inspector and one of the senior figures on the Major Crime Unit leading the murder probe.

With the eight year anniversary of Beata’s unsolved murder approaching, Wycombe’s Deputy Area Commander is once again pleading for the public’s help to finally close the book on the most difficult case he has ever worked on.

Ch Insp Seaton said: “Beata Bryl is probably the most difficult case I’ve ever worked on.

“There were numerous suspects, lots of different lines of enquiry, the nature of the crime was absolutely horrific – to bludgeon someone so brutally with a heavy object and to do it with such ferocity and force does beggar belief.

“If we could catch that individual to make sure they are a) not ever, ever in a position to commit such a crime again.

“To b) satisfy Beata’s family that we’ve done everything we can – which we have – to give them peace of mind to say we’ve caught their daughter’s killer.

“But also for a personal point of view, there was an awful lot of emotional investment, not just from me, but everyone on that enquiry team. It would be a good way to put some closure on it – it was over a year’s worth of work.”

Police arrested and questioned more than 20 potential suspects during their investigation – but none of them were ever charged and put on trial.

Officers probed every angle, even down to where a pillowcase and a plastic bag used to cover Beata’s head were manufactured, in a bid to solve the case.

The investigation was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch in 2007, with Beata’s final movements painstakingly retraced and reconstructed.

She was spotted in Leytonstone station, east London, at 11.30pm on July 28.

CCTV images show her wearing a red jacket, grey knee-length trousers and white trainers. She was also carrying a white MK One bag in her arms.

Her body was found by a motorist, who had pulled over for a ‘call of nature’, in woodland off Hedsor Lane (map above) at about 12.50pm on July 29, 2006.

John Deacon told an inquest held in June 2007 that he saw smoke emanating from the woodland before he discovered Beata’s burning body.

The inquest heard how Beata – a former teen beauty pageant contest who came to England in 2003 with a boyfriend – had 21 lacerations on her scalp.

It took detectives a month to identify her body due to the extent of the burns.

Beata’s mother Marii visited the site to lay flowers but could not afford to have her body transported back to Gliwice in Poland.

Ch Insp Seaton believes High Wycombe’s ever-growing Polish community could hold the key to finally finding Beata’s killer.

He has also appealed directly to the murderer to relieve themselves of the burden they have been carrying on their conscience for the last eight years.

He told the BFP: “I’m sure there are people out there from the Polish community who will have known Beata or known of Beata.

“That community has grown enormously since she was killed, so it would give them peace of mind and satisfy curious minds – we’d love to do it for them.

“But someone, somewhere has been living with this horrible crime and I’m sure it’s a heavy burden for them to bear every day.

“I would like to appeal for them to come forward and give themselves up.”

Ch Insp Seaton added: “At this stage we are issuing a new appeal in case it triggers anyone’s memory of anything that may give us a new lead or a new line - anything that could lead to the identification of Beata’s killers.”

Contact police on the 101 enquiry line or, if you do not wish to speak to the police, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 with any information.