Murder motive is a mystery

He was found face down in a river, shot in the back of the head with a home-made bullet and stabbed through the heart with a four-andahalf inch knife.

Police today revealed the full horror of the death of Anton Hyman, who was last been seen getting into a minicab outside a KFC restaurant in Ealing Broadway on Saturday night. Officers believe he was later murdered and dumped in the river Brent in Greenford, west London, where his body was discovered by a passer-by on Sunday morning. He was only 17.

Neighbours and friends today described Anton, who lived in Acton

with his mother and fiveyearold sister, as a "quiet, polite boy".

Police admitted he had a criminal record but added that he was not a serious offender. They said they are mystified by the motive for such an horrific attack.

"No-one knows why this has happened to him, it's terrible," a teenager who grew up with Anton said today.

"I came back from college and heard what happened. It is all such a shock, we all grew up on this estate. He was always a nice boy and very polite."

A man at Anton's home in Joseph Avenue, who did not want to be named, said: "The family are in shock and are too upset to talk to anyone now. Anton was a nice boy. We don't know anything yet, no-one can tell us what happened or why."

Police said Anton was not thought to be a "major player" in the criminal world. They will now investigate any links he may have had to criminals or drugs.

They do not think the motive for the attack was robbery because he still had a mobile phone and cash when he was found.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "The nature of some of the wounds he had suggest it was quite a protracted assault rather than a quick fight. We really don't know for certain why this has happened.

"He had not come to any particular police attention and we do not believe him to be a major player or a member of a gang.

"There were potentially a number of people involved and we don't believe it was a random attack.

"At the moment we have no evidence to suggest that it's a racist attack."

Anton, who was unemployed, was last seen at about 8pm on Saturday night outside KFC in Ealing Broadway, where he is thought to have got

into a minicab on his own. Police are keen to speak to the minicab driver to trace the teenager's last movements. Fifteen hours after he was last seen, his body was found by a man walking a dog near to a bridge on the River Brent.

Officers and police divers are now combing the area and are looking for a .22 calibre pistol and a knife with a four-and-a-half inch blade.

When his body was found he was wearing bright multi-coloured gloves, blue and white boots, dark jeans and a dark grey fleece.

A post-mortem examination showed he died from a stab wound to the heart.