Gay man’s body found in country lane
The remains of a gay man from Notting Hill have been found next to a country lane in Luton, Bedfordshire.
Alexandre Marques, 61, emigrated to London from Portugal in 1972 and disappeared from his bedsit in Notting Hill on Sunday 16th October 2005.
Colleagues at the exclusive ARTS club in Mayfair reported him missing on October 21, after he failed to appear at work for five days.
Mr Marques lived alone and was last seen by a neighbour in Clanricarde Gardens at 11am on the Sunday of
his disappearance.
An hour later, Mr Marques telephoned a friend to invite him for drinks at the Notting Hill Café. His friend could not make it on time and so called him at 5.20pm to reschedule but Mr Marques did not answer his phone.
At 9pm on the same night, a rent boy who regularly visited Mr Marques found his front door unlocked with no-one inside.
The keys, credit cards, passport, glasses and wallet of Mr Marques were missing.
“There were no signs of a disturbance,” Detective Inspector Tim Dobson said. “It was as if he had left to go out.”
The Metropolitan Police then launched a poster campaign at gay venues across the capital appealing for information on Mr Marques’s whereabouts.
On January 2nd 2006, a couple found his decomposed remains beside Woodside Road, near Luton, Bedfordshire.
The Metropolitan Police launched a murder investigation before the body of Mr Marques was discovered after they learnt that someone withdrew money from his bank account following his disappearance.
On October 18th 2006, a man dressed in dark trousers with red writing up the sides, withdrew £100 from cash machines in Willesden and Cricklewood, north west London.
Detective Inspector Dobson urged gay people who had been victims of credit card theft to come forward. He also appealed for anyone who knew of any links between Mr Marques and the Luton area to contact the incident room on 0207 321 9251.
