Torso boy 'was ritual killing'

The five-year-old boy whose torso was dumped in the Thames was a victim of ritual murder, detectives confirmed today after a second post-mortem.

South African pathologist Professor Hendrik Scholtz told a conference of senior detectives that those who killed the boy almost certainly made potions from parts of his body in the hope of achieving supernatural powers.

"That is the whole purpose of the ritual," said Professor Scholtz, who is a world expert in such murders. "The brain and skull are used in the preparation of potions which are then taken. By a person's sacrifice they believe they can awake the supernatural forces required to attain the goal required."

He said such killings were carried out in Africa by people trying to achieve business prosperity or high political office. The murder was almost certainly the act of a group, he added.

Experienced detectives are appalled by confirmation that "Adam" - as they have called the boy - was the victim of a ritual murder, the first of its kind in Britain. His body was spotted floating in the Thames near Tower Bridge on 21 September.

Today Det Insp Will O'Reilly, leading the inquiry, appealed for anyone who knew the boy to come forward, saying: "Until we know who he was we will not be able to find out who killed him."