Secretary's last journey

Police today released key CCTV images of a secretary who was found strangled at her home.

Stills show June Thrussell leaving her office in Ilford, the last time she was seen alive.

Detectives, who have admitted they can find no motive for her murder, hope the pictures will jog the memories of people who may have seen her. Mrs Thrussell left work at an insurance firm at Valentine House, Ilford, last Tuesday. She failed to appear for the rest of the week and an anxious colleague raised the alarm on Friday.

Police officers found her body on the floor of the one-bedroom house where she lived

alone in Chadwell Heath.

Detectives have been probing the private life of Mrs Thrussell, who had a number of partners after she split from her husband in the late Eighties.

Police have been questioning former boyfriends but say they are keeping "an open mind" over possible reasons for the murder.

Her older sister, Doreen, is due to fly from her home in Cyprus to help police with their enquiries.

Mrs Thrussell was secretary to the claims manager at Brit Insurance and had worked for the car insurance company for nearly 35 years.

A company spokeswoman said: "Mrs Thrussell worked for the company for many years and was extremely popular with her colleagues. She was a dedicated, loyal and a hard worker and will be badly missed."

After she left work for the final time, it is believed that as usual Mrs Thrussell caught a train from Ilford to Chadwell Heath and then walked home.

A post-mortem examination at East Ham mortuary revealed she died of strangulation. A police spokesman said there was no immediate evidence of a sexual assault but they were awaiting the results of further tests.

Leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Keith Garnish said: "We need to trace anyone who saw June after 5pm on Tuesday [14 June] when she left work.

"At present that is the last sighting we have of her. We are confident that the CCTV stills of June leaving work will jog someone's memory."

"We urge anyone who may have seen June that day to contact us."

Anyone with information should call the incident room at Barking police station on 020 8345 3715; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers, 0800 555 111.