Masseuse 'mistaken for prostitute'

The killer of £100-an-hour masseuse Angela Chiu may have mistakenly believed she was a prostitute, detectives say.

As the family of the 48-year-old millionairess today spoke of their devastation at the loss of a "fun-loving and caring" woman, police said they believed she may have been the victim of a male client.

Mrs Chiu, who had professional qualifications including a diploma in therapeutic massage, had advertised her services, including a full-body massage, in a local newspaper - alongside those from women offering sexual services.

Detective Inspector Steve Thorpe, who is leading the investigation, said Mrs Chiu may have been killed by a male client who got the wrong idea about her business.

Mrs Chiu was due to take her 18-year-old daughter Daniella to the Robbie Williams concert at Knebworth this weekend before she was stabbed to death. She was repeatedly knifed in the chest by an attacker she is thought to have let into her £1million home in the Canford Cliffs area of Poole, Dorset. Her body was found hours later in the bathroom by Daniella, who lives nearby.

Today her parents, Irene and Horace Hobby, and Mrs Chiu's daughter, appealed for help in catching the killer and said in a statement: "Angela was a loving and caring mother as well as a wonderful daughter, thoughtful and fun-loving sister and an admired aunt."