Mother's plea to catch daughter's killer

The mother of murdered American artist Margaret Muller has pleaded for help to find the killer of her "beautiful and talented" daughter.

Speaking for the first time since the death of her daughter, who was stabbed in a frenzied attack in a Hackney park, Eileen Muller said she believed the killer would strike again unless someone came forward with information.

"There is no doubt that someone who did that to her will strike again and perhaps kill someone else who is out jogging. The police thought it was a spur-of-the-moment attack," she said.

Six months after the painter's death, Mrs Muller is struggling to understand why anyone would want to kill her daughter. "It is very difficult to find a possible motive," she said. "She really was a beautiful young lady who was very talented and had many friends. She was content and she loved London."

Mrs Muller, speaking from her home in Virginia, added: "When I went over there, I met many of the pupils she had taught. Perhaps the person who killed her didn't like Americans. I don't know if it was planned."

Detectives believe Margaret, 27, a student at the Slade School of Art, was murdered in a random attack by a stranger, one of the most difficult of cases to solve.

She was stabbed repeatedly as she jogged through the rose garden of Victoria Park early on the morning of Monday 3 February. Police are still following up possible leads in the hunt for the killer, and the number of officers on the inquiry was recently increased to more than 40.

Three people have been arrested but no one has been charged. Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Shatford, who is leading the hunt, says he is convincedthe killer will be caught but admits it may take time.

Mrs Muller said she had reservations about the rundown industrial estate in Hackney Wick where her daughter had rented a one-bedroom flat in artists' studios. "The last time she came home she showed me a picture of the factory area where she lived. I was worried. It didn't look to me the sort of area you should be around at night."

She revealed her daughter had been a victim of pickpockets on a number of occasions and had her travelcard stolen in a bar. She also described how Margaret was struggling to make ends meet.

Margaret, who arrived in Britain in 1998, supplemented her income as an artist by teaching at the Slade and working as a receptionist.

Mrs Muller said: "Margaret was such a talented young person, but it is difficult to sell art work. She was having a difficult time working at the Slade and making money to support herself.

"I suggested she came back and look for a job here. We live in a large colonial house with four bedrooms and an attic. But she loved being at the Slade.

"I know she wanted to get married and have children. She was just looking to find someone suitable. She wanted someone who was interested in art.

"In one of our last conversations, she mentioned that she had met someone in a bar who seemed very nice, but I don't know who he was."

Mrs Muller flew to London with her husband Erich, 61, an engineer, after the murder but was too upset to visit the scene of her daughter's death.

It was a source of "deep regret" to her that she did not take an opportunity to visit Margaret before her death. "Just before she died, my husband went on business to Seattle," said Mrs Muller. "I was thinking of going to see her, but I went with him instead, and the morning after we returned she was murdered.

"She was so pleased I was coming to see her but in the end I thought it would be too much travelling. If I had gone to see her, I would have spent precious days with her.

"We spoke every Sunday, but the difficult thing is I could have been in England. She was going to come back and visit us in April."

Mrs Muller, who last saw her daughter on 6 January, said Margaret had enjoyed acrobatics and playing the violin when she was growing up. She attended art college and in the summers she looked after horses with her sister Theresia, now a 31-year-old accountant, who Mrs Muller said "misses Margaret desperately".

She added: "Margaret drew and painted so well. I look at her work around the house. She loved painting."