AlfrediaHopkins
Police arrested two suspects today on charges of manslaughter and human trafficking in the case of 39 bodies in container cars.
The two suspects arrested include a man and a woman who are both 38 years old. Both were arrested in the town of Warrington, nearly 350 km from Essex County, on charges of manslaughter and human trafficking, Essex County police today said. The identity of these two people has not been announced by the police.
Police and forensic experts at the scene where the bodies of 39 people were found in refrigerated containers at Waterglade industrial zone, Grays town, UK on October 23 Photo: AP
Bulgarian television, however, said Joanna Maher, 38, of Warrington, England, owned the Scania tractor, which was driven by a Mo Robinson driver carrying a container of 39 people on October 23.
Joanna and her husband Thomas, also 38, told reporters they used to own a trailer but sold it 13 months ago to a company in Monaghan County, near Robinson's residence. Police arrested driver Robinson, 25, on charges of murder.
39 people were found dead when driver Robinson opened the frozen container door on October 23 at the Waterglade industrial park, Grays town. The driver called for an ambulance when the bodies were discovered, and the medical staff informed the local police.
The Essex County Police of England initially believed that all the victims, including 31 men and 8 women, were Chinese, but authorities were investigating suspected victims of non-Chinese citizenship. The representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK said he was working closely with the police to find out information related to this new development.
Essex police today announced that "the picture of the case may change after the identification process".
In a regular press conference today in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said 39 bodies discovered in Britain had not been identified as Chinese. "We hope the British side will confirm the victims' identities as soon as possible, find out the truth and severely punish the criminals involved in the incident," said Ms Hoa Xuan Oanh.
Eleven of 39 bodies were taken to Broomfield Hospital in the town of Chelmsford, Essex, on the evening of October 24 for an autopsy. The remaining bodies are expected to be completed by the end of the week, leading British forensic expert Richard Shepherd said the screening process "will be very slow and sequential". Forensic experts will look at clothing, jewelry, identification, passports and other factors to look for relevant clues.
