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Sarah Wellgreen documentary rekindles hope of new leads in hunt for missing mum from New Ash Green

13:04, 01 December 2020

updated: 13:57, 01 December 2020

A crime documentary on the murder of Sarah Wellgreen has rekindled hope of new leads in the search to find her.

The mum of five's disappearance from her home in New Ash Green in October 2018, and the subsequent conviction of former partner Ben Lacomba, was recounted in an episode of the Sky Crime series Killer in My Village last month, which is available online and is set to air again this Saturday at 5pm.

Sarah Wellgreen disappeared in October 2018
Sarah Wellgreen disappeared in October 2018

The documentary covers interviews with members of Sarah's family, including mum Anne Reid and son Lewis Burdett; as well as DCI Ivan Beasley of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, who led the police investigation which secured Lacomba's conviction; along with members of the Search for Sarah Wellgreen Group and KentOnline news team.

It's now over two years since 46-year-old Sarah disappeared from the home she shared with Lacomba, in Bazes Shaw, New Ash Green, overnight between October 9 and 10 2018, and earlier this year police announced the formal search for her body had come to an end.

But they say they will continue to follow new leads, and members of the Search for Sarah Wellgreen team have said they will never give up the hunt to find her.

Volunteers searching woodland in the hunt for Sarah Wellgreen
Volunteers searching woodland in the hunt for Sarah Wellgreen

Speaking after being interviewed for the documentary, community search leader Sharon Brine said filming in the village had already brought renewed interest in the case, and hoped the episode itself would bring further attention.

Meanwhile Lacomba, 40, remains behind bars having been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 27 years, in November last year, following a four week trial.

A jury took three-and-a-half hours to decide he was guilty of Sarah's murder, having been presented with a mass of evidence - including evidence which showed he had left the house and driven into the countryside on the night she disappeared, despite claiming to have stayed in bed.

But while police remain certain Lacomba disposed of Sarah's body that night, a two year hunt covering thousands of potential locations has failed to locate her.

On the night she disappeared Lacomba's car was caught on CCTV cameras leaving new New Ash Green at 2.13am and driving south to a point on Plaxdale Green Road near Wrotham Hill, where it was captured on CCTV at around 2.20am, before returning the same route around two hours later.

But where he went in the two hour gap remains a mystery still to be solved.

Sarah's relatives and those involved in the ongoing search for her remain hopeful the new documentary could jog memories and inspire people to come forward with information.

To support Sarah Wellgreen's family click here.

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