Detectives arrest fourth man for murder of student nurse Owami Davies

Detectives arrest fourth man for murder as they try to solve disappearance of missing student nurse Owami Davies, 24

• Owami was last seen on July 7 in West Croydon, London, in a ‘vulnerable state’
• Three other men previously arrested for murder also remain in police custody 
• Police are urgently appealing for anyone with any information to contact them
• Her mother said the student nurse had just secured a job at a London hospital 

A fourth person has been arrested on suspicion of murder by Met police detectives investigating the disappearance of  24-year-old student nurse Owami Davies.

A 22-year-old man was arrested at a property in Croydon, South London yesterday evening (August 3). 

Three other men, aged 23, 27 and 32, who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder as part of the investigation also all remain in custody after police obtained warrants for their further detention.

Owami Davies, 24, of Grays, Essex, was last seen ‘in a vulnerable state’ just after midnight on July 7 in west Croydon – three days after leaving her family home.

She has now been missing for four weeks and police say their priority remains finding her. 

CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows Owami crossing Derby Road in west Croydon with a mystery man as a white van pulls out into the road. 

The van driver would have had a good opportunity to see them both clearly and officers are appealing this possible witness to come forward.

Owami is described as a ‘caring’, ‘loving’ and ‘doting’ by her distraught mother, Nicol.

Owami Davies, 24, of Grays, Essex, was last seen ‘in a vulnerable state’ just after midnight on Derby Road, west Croydon, on July 7 after leaving her family home three days earlier. Here she is pictured on CCTV in a shop the same night she disappeared

Owami’s mother, Nicol Davies, said: ‘There are many friends and family who love and care for Owami and all of them want to see her safe return. Owami – if you see this appeal please believe you are not in any trouble, we just want you to come back to us’

The Metropolitan Police released an image of Owami (figure on left) walking on Derby Road in west Croydon when she was last seen on July 7 and said to be ‘in a vulnerable state’

A timeline of events from the moment Ms Davies left her family home in Grays, Essex, to the point where two men were arrested on Monday in the Croydon area

Owami was captured on CCTV in this shop on Derby Road, Croydon

Ms Davies said: ‘It is obvious that someone out there has seen something, someone out there knows something, someone out there heard something.

‘I am begging, I am asking for the public’s help, from the people, to say if you know, if you have heard or seen her, or she passed you, please speak up.’

She added: ‘All we really want is to find her, all we really need is for her to come home or to know her whereabouts.

‘I sit here as a desperate mother at the mercy of anyone that knows or heard something to help me find my baby, that’s all I’m asking, just help to find her.’

She added: ‘Or her, if she’s somewhere and hears this, to please come home.

‘We miss her so much, her brothers and myself miss her, need her.

‘We are not complete, we just want her to come home and, again, if she is listening she should know she’s not in trouble.

‘She’s a lovely person. Owami’s caring, she likes to help. She doesn’t hold grudges. She loves her brothers, she dotes on her brothers. She loves me. As much as we love her.’ 

Ms Davies said Owami was ‘really happy’ prior to her disappearance, and had about two months left of her studies. 

She had recently secured a job with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and was interested in doing research on diseases.

Mrs Davies said: ‘There are many friends and family who love and care for Owami and all of them want to see her safe return’

Police appealed to the public for help in piecing together Owami Davies’ movements. Pictured: Police tape outside a property on Derby Road

Nicol, a mother of three, said they had holidays planned to Spain and Disneyland Paris, saying her daughter’s nickname is ‘Princess’ due to her love of Disney.

She said: ‘We had so many things on our calendar that we still needed to do.’

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command leads the investigation and said: ‘While a further arrest has been made, this remains a missing person investigation and our priority is, and has always been, finding Owami.

‘I would continue to appeal to anyone who has information about Owami’s whereabouts to please get in contact with my team. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, then you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers – they will not ask for your identity and will not trace your call.’

Owami from Grays, in Essex, left her family home on Monday, 4 July and was last seen at 00:03hrs in Derby Road, West Croydon, on Thursday, 7 July. 

Owami’s family are being kept updated about the progress of the investigation.

DCI Penney added: ‘We are working hard to find Owami but we really do need the public’s help – the longer she is missing the more we worry that she has come to harm.

‘As a result of extensive CCTV enquiries we have a clearer idea of Owami’s movements, but we still need the public to contact us and tell us what they know. We would obviously like to speak to the driver of the white van that passed Owami in Derby Road, but anyone with information should call.’

Police are asking any witnesses or anyone with information to call 020 8721 4622, or 101, quoting reference 22MIS025307.

To give information anonymously people can also contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.

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