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British nurse stabbed to death
07/04/2006 18:16 - (SA)
London - British detectives hunting the killer of a nurse stabbed to death outside an Essex hospital appealed for information on Friday, saying they didn't have any clues as to who had carried out the murder.
Superintendent Dick Langley said that no witnesses had come forward and early investigations suggested the attack had not been caught on CCTV cameras.
He said: "The reality of it is that we don't even know if it was a man or a woman yet."
Cheryl Moss, 33, was attacked in a park area at the back of the hospital in Hornchurch, near London, while she was on a cigarette break on Thursday morning.
Police had said that they didn't think the suspect was a hospital patient because they were mostly very elderly.
Hospital staff 'very distressed'
One man had been arrested in connection with the case, but Langley said he was expected to be eliminated from the inquiry shortly.
Ralph McCormack of Havering Primary Care Trust, which managed the hospital, said the staff was very distressed by what had happened and some had not reported for work on Friday.
He said: "What's clear is that Cheryl dedicated herself to the support and care of others. She's been working in health services for the last 17 years.
"She was very well respected and liked ... by her colleagues. Clearly, her loss will be a grave one."
Although police said the attack appeared to have been carried out by a stranger, nurses said it drew attention to the dangers of their profession.
The Royal College of Nursing said that nearly four out of 10 nurses reported being harassed or assaulted by patients or relatives in the last 12 months.
Janet Davies, Royal College of Nursing director of service delivery, said: "Healthcare staff should not have to go to work fearing for their lives and personal safety."
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