A man suspected of murdering schoolgirl Lucy McHugh burned clothes in the back garden of his family home on the day she was found stabbed to death, according to a local resident.
The body of Lucy McHugh was discovered in a wooded area near Southampton Sports Centre on Thursday.
Police are currently searching the family home of a 24-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder and sexual activity with a child, who has been named locally as Stephen Nicholson.
A local resident said he was arrested at the house, also in Mansel Road East, on Thursday.
The resident said: “The police came straight round there to arrest him. He had burned clothes in the back garden.”
The resident, who asked not to be named, added: “He had been living in Lucy’s house. He’d told them he had been kicked out by his mum.
“Her mum had got him a job as a carer and he also did tattooing in a room he has set up in their house.”
In a social media post, she said: “Please can I ask that people are not passing blame on to family members of the person that has been arrested in connection with my precious daughter Lucy White’s murder.
“Making threats of violence to them will not bring my angel back.”
A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “We cannot say at this stage whether this is a knife, scissors or other bladed implement.
“Even if someone has put an item in a bin, we will try and recover it.”
He said: “We know how shocked the community is and understand that emotions are running high.
“However we ask people not to speculate on social media – it is unhelpful to the investigation and to Lucy’s family.
“Please allow us to do our job and find out what happened to Lucy.”
Images of type of clothing worn by Lucy McHugh before her death in #Southampton. Did you see Lucy between 9.30am, Wed 25 Jul & 7.45am on Thurs? Keen to hear from anyone who has found a sharp implement, particularly in the area around the Sports Centre. https://t.co/L7HRigXIie pic.twitter.com/QcoaEjzGsE
— Hampshire Police (@HantsPolice) July 29, 2018
The teenager was last seen wearing a distinctive black jacket with white sleeves, with the logo for the band Falling In Reverse on the front and RADKE 01 in red on the back. She also wore camouflage leggings, a white vest top and black and white trainers.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise £5,000 towards costs for Lucy’s funeral has so far received more than £6,000.
