Three girls held over blaze killing

Three teenage girls and a 20-year-old man are today being questioned by police over the murder of a teenager who was set on fire in a remote country lane.

Police believe Debra Carne, 17, was killed over a petty "local dispute" in the village of Castle Hedingham in Essex. It is believed she had been strangled before she was set alight. A post mortem examination confirmed the teenager, who lived with her mother in nearby Sible Hedingham, near Braintree, died of asphyxiation.

Rebecca Knight, 26, Debra's half sister, said she believed her death happened after an "awful prank" went wrong.

Debra's father, Roger, who lives two miles outside the village, was too upset to talk today but his partner Judy Herring said the family were "completely baffled" as to why anyone would want to kill Miss Carne. Police sources say the death was probably the result of a "teenage row that got out of hand".

One source said: "This is not over some major vendetta or drugs but a local argument that has got out of hand, probably over something trivial."

It is understood Miss Carne was friends with the three girls, aged 17, 18 and 19, who are in police custody. Detectives are expected to question the four suspects, who are local to the area, until at least 6pm today.

Miss Carne's mother is being comforted by friends and relatives. Ms Herring said today: "We are devastated by her death." Her body was found by two farmers at a beauty spot called Swallow's Dip at

A neighbour of Mr Carne's described Debra as "very mature". Margaret Judd said: "She was quite a grown-up girl for her age. Because she lived with her mum she did grow-up pretty quickly.

"She was very close to her mum. It would be funny to see her without her mum. They walked around like girls together."

Mrs Judd, who lives opposite Debra's father said: "I've lived here for 30 years and I've never heard of a murder here. It's unbelievable. The whole village is talking about it."

She added: "You think people must have been larking around and something went wrong. Then whoever did this must have thought, 'Oh God what have I done' and tried to burn her body. It does not seem a logical act."

Mrs Judd's husband, Eric, a former chairman of the local parish council, said Mr Carne and his partner Judy had been to their house for dinner recently. "We found them very nice. They kept themselves to themselves and were quite quiet, but they were nice people and a nice family."

He said Mr Carne was a former firefighter but didn't know whether he was now retired or pursuing another career.

Miss Knight, a mother of two, who lives in the tiny Essex village of Sible Hedingham, said that on the evening her sister went missing she left home about 10pm saying she was going to the pub with friends but failed to return that night.

Miss Knight added: "The next day I took my children round to Debra's house to be with my mother. She still had not returned and I suddenly got this horrible feeling that something must have happened.

"Later that day my grandmother rang to tell me that a body had been found and I thought, 'It must be Debra'. My mother was in denial and cannot believe it. "

"But the police contacted us and asked if Debra had a watch and a bracelet with her when she went out. They later had to check the family dental and medical records to make sure it was her.

"This is the kind of thing that doesn't happen in a tiny village like this. It's all too awful."

Today the girls' mother, Heather Knight, was visiting her doctor, where it is thought she is being given treatment to help her cope with the stress of the murder.

Miss Knight said that her sister, who had never had a serious boyfriend, had left school last summer and had been mostly unemployed but had worked at a local furniture factory.