A PENSIONER arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend and leaving her body in a ditch has been released without charge.
James Copp was arrested after the body of 62-year-old grandmother, Janis Downey, was discovered near their home in Daws Hill, Sewardstone, in the early hours of March 10.
Police began a murder investigation saying they believed she had died as a result of a domestic related incident, and Mr Copp, 74, was a suspect for more than three months before being released from police bail on Tuesday (June 19).
He told the Guardian the couple had been drinking in the Duke of Wellington pub in High Beach on the night Mrs Downey died.
He explained: “We had a few pints and then we got a cab back to mine and went to bed.
“Janis used to go back down to the bar I have downstairs and smoke.
“She must have wandered outside and fallen in the ditch.”
Mr Copp was arrested within hours of the body being discovered, and quizzed by detectives at Harlow Police Station.
He said: “I told the police what had happened, but they didn’t want to know.
“Can you imagine how terrible it has been?
“I miss her very much. This is a big house and now I’m here on my own.
“I don’t feel like going out. I don’t feel like seeing anybody and I’ve been staying with my daughter a lot.”
Mr Copp said his friends have stood by him during his ordeal, but is worried there are people who will still question his innocence.
“The friends I know from the Duke of Wellington have been good about it,” he explained.
“None of them ever doubted my innocence.
“It was a terrible accident and I still think about it all the time.
“But I think it’s possible that her family blame me for what happened.
“I’m still so gutted about Janis.
“She’s gone and this won’t bring her back, but I want to set the record straight.
“As hard as it is, I’m trying to get back to some sort of a normal life.”
A provisional post-mortem examination showed that Mrs Downey died as a result of drowning, and an inquest is now due to take place.
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