KEY POINTS:
London police say they are making good progress in the hunt for the killer of Hawke's Bay woman Catherine Marlow.
Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain said today police still had no motive for the slaying but were following "positive" leads.
Mr Allain refused to comment on whether any of the three men arrested in connection the investigation knew Miss Marlow.
"We don't know if the killer was somebody who knew Cathy or it was a stranger," he said.
Miss Marlow, 28, who was raised in Hastings and had been living in London since 2004, was found dead at her office in South London on January 13.
Police said she died of asphyxiation, but refused to give further information.
A 28-year-old work colleague, who found her body and called police, was arrested at the scene and later released without charge.
A second man has pleaded guilty to the theft of her credit card and remanded in custody for sentence, and a third man arrested late last week was released on bail.
Mr Allain said the discovery in a South London street of Miss Marlow's stolen handbag was a major breakthrough and was expected to produce a "goldmine" of forensic evidence.
A weekend appeal at the murder, held exactly a week after Miss Marlow died, also resulted in many calls from the public.
Last hours
The last images of Catherine Marlow alive and a detailed record of the accountant's final hours have been released by police in Britain.
Closed-circuit TV footage showed the 28-year-old from Hawkes Bay stopping at Toni Deli near her London home for food and drink at around 9.10am on the day she died.
The image shows Ms Marlow casually dressed in a black top and blue jeans on that Saturday morning, just over a week ago. She appeared to be the only customer in the store, chatting to the man serving her.
Less than five hours later, Ms Marlow, who had been on her OE since 2004, was found dead in a shower cubicle at her workplace, Research Now.
She had popped in to work for a couple of hours and, police said, was brutally attacked as she left to meet a friend at around 2pm.
The cause of death was asphyxiation but Ms Marlow was reportedly the victim of a savage beating that left her lying in a pool of her own blood.
Investigation head Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain yesterday renewed appeals for information.
He told the British press: "She was a really nice girl who lived life to the full and loved to travel. It is a tragedy that she has been struck down in this way. This is a rapidly moving inquiry and I am confident we will catch Cathy's killer."
From the murder scene, he released details of Ms Marlow's movements from when she left home at around 9am until her handbag was found abandoned in a nearby street just after 3pm.
Detectives believed the distinctive brown leather handbag could hold the key to the killer's identity and appealed for sightings of the bag between 1.36pm and 3pm on the day of her death.
Police made three arrests in a week in relation to the case. The first was a 28-year-old man, a friend who discovered Ms Marlow's body, who was later released from custody without charge.
On Thursday a 38-year-old man was charged in connection with stealing Ms Marlow's credit card and later bailed. On Saturday a 26-year-old man was arrested and released on bail.
Saturday January 13
9am: Catherine Marlow left her home in Wilkinson St and walked to work along South Lambeth Rd.
9.10am: She stopped at a shop, the Toni Deli, to buy something to eat and a drink.
9.30am: The accountant, 28, arrived at her workplace, Research Now, in South Lambeth Rd.
1.36pm: Ms Marlow made her last known contact, with a friend who she had arranged to meet at 2pm.
1.36pm to 2pm: Police believe Ms Marlow was attacked between these times on the bottom floor of her workplace as she was leaving.
3pm: Ms Marlow's brown leather handbag was discovered in a nearby street.
- additional reporting NZPA
