Fatal Mix up

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Mistaken for pedophile
From:
By Ben EnglishAugust 20, 2005


AN Australian tourist beaten to death in his London hotel may have been mistaken for a serial pedophile deported from Australia just days before, detectives believe.Newton Thompson, 61, a Melbourne father of two, was found beaten to death on August 2, just days after child molester Robert Excell arrived in Britain from Perth.

Officers from the serious crime directorate say they were stunned to discover an uncanny resemblance between the two men.

Like Excell, Newton had a shock of white hair, a silver beard and wore metal frame glasses. Both men also had paunches.

Detectives said Mr Thompson's Australian accent may have convinced his attacker he was the pedophile.

They said the nature of the murder - a savage beating involving many heavy blows to the back of the head - also fitted the profile of a vigilante attack.

Detective Chief Inspector David Little, who has presided over the murder investigation, said mistaken identity was a line of inquiry.

"I don't know who committed this offence but we are considering all possible motives," he said.

The murder case has so puzzled police they have distributed flyers to local hotels and homes surrounding west London's Comfort Inn Hotel where Mr Thompson's body was found by staff.

He was last seen at the hotel bar at 9.15pm the previous night before he went for a walk and was captured on CCTV walking through Leinster Terrace towards Bayswater Rd.

Excell, 66, who spent 37 of the past 39 years behind bars for repeated child sex attacks, landed in London in a blaze of publicity the previous Saturday.

While he left Britain as a 10-year-old, Excell never gained Australian citizenship, which enabled the Western Australian Government to send him back to Britain. He is still considered a danger to children.

On the night of Mr Thompson's death, noises of a disturbance were heard by other guests.
Police are trying to establish whether he brought anyone back to his hotel room.

One source said the likeness between the victim and Excell was quite uncanny and the timing of the murder could be important.

"We urgently want to hear from anyone who saw Mr Thompson on the night he was murdered," the source said.

"We also want to hear from anyone who heard someone bragging about killing Excell."

Mr Thompson was on a six-week European holiday. He returned to London on August 1 after a five-day trip to York and Scotland.

A devout Catholic, Mr Thompson lived alone in the house built by his parents. He had dreamed of becoming a priest, but turned to a career in teaching instead.

Neighbours said he was a lonely man who had deeply missed his parents following their deaths some years ago.

Mr Thompson's belongings were taken in the attack, prompting initial theories the murder was a robbery gone wrong.

Excell is in hiding in London. Several newspapers have launched hunts to find him amid public uproar that he was allowed to re-enter Britain.

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