Man arrested on suspicion of murdering Peterborough schoolboy Rikki Neave has left the country

The 35-year-old man was arrested on April 19, after Cambridgeshire police started the investigation into the 1994 murder of six year old Rikki.

The man has been granted bail by detectives while investigations continue.

Today a police spokesman said: “We have reason to believe that the 35-year-old man from Peterborough who was arrested in connection with the historic murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave left the country while on police bail.

“We have been in communication with him and are working with him and partner agencies in order for him to return to the UK promptly.

“He remains on police bail to return to a Cambridgeshire police station on September 20.”

Rikki Neave was six-years-old when he was murdered in Peterborough in November, 1994. He was last seen leaving for school at around 9am on the morning of November 28th.

Rikki’s body was found in a wooded area of Eye Road, close to Willoughby Court at 12:05pm the following day - five minutes’ walk from his house in the Welland Estate.

A post mortem examination concluded that Rikki had died as a result of a compression of the neck – strangulation.

In June last year (2015), officers from the three-force Major Crime Unit relaunched the investigation into Rikki’s murder with a team of dedicated officers and specialists assigned.

Over the past ten months officers have been methodically building a timeline of Rikki’s last movements and made a national appeal for help via the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

Anyone with information about Rikki’s death should contact police on 01480 425882 or email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can give information anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.