Woman was bound and gagged before being dumped in Taplow Lake, court hears
A jury has heard how a woman was bound and gagged before she was dumped in a lake in Buckinghamshire 30 years ago.
Shani Warren was discovered in Taplow Lake in Buckinghamshire in April 1987.
Accused killer Donald Robertson refused to appear at Reading Crown Court, as prosecutors told how the now 66-year-old had attacked the 26-year-old.
The jury also heard how her body was found by a woman walking her dog on April 18 1987.
Prosecutor John Price QC said: "The late Ms Marjorie Arnold was walking her Alsatian dog called Anna, around the perimeter of Taplow Lake."
He said that in a statement to a police officer that same evening, Ms Arnold continued: "When I reached the corner which has an entrance from the A4 on the Slough side of the lake, my dog, Anna, started acting strangely.
"She looked at me for reassurance, so I then went to see what was disturbing her. The first thing I saw was a pair of hands tied with something red. The hands were out of the water and I could see that it was a woman with beautifully manicured nails."
Mr Price continued: "Ms Arnold hastened to the side of the A4 Bath Road and tried to flag down passing motorists. Two cars stopped and she reported what she had found.
"The three of them were able to pull the body out of the water. It could now be seen that not only was it bound hand and foot but also gagged by a piece of cloth wrapped around the head and knotted towards the back, at the left side."
The jury heard that it was clear Shani was dead and later investigation established that she had most likely been killed on the evening of the day before, Good Friday.
A post-mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist concluded that Shani had died from drowning.
Mr Price added there was also fresh bruising to the neck which pointed to an act of strangling before she died.
Robertson is charged with the murder, indecent assault and false imprisonment of Shani Warren, as well as the rape and kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl six years earlier.The trial continues.