THE Heather Barnett murder case will always be open, according to the senior investigating officer.

Five years after the Bournemouth mother-of-two's mutilated body was found by her children in the bathroom of their Charminster home, Det Supt Mark Cooper pledged that the hunt for her killer will continue.

He told the Daily Echo how two senior detectives were still liaising with their Italian counterparts investigating the disappearance of 16-year-old Elisa Claps in Potenza in September 1993.

He said: "They are examining and reviewing case papers, intelligence and witness accounts. Our work in Italy is very significant."

Detectives are trying to identify the owner of cut human hair found in Heather's right hand following her death on November 12, 2002.

Earlier this week Det Insp Jez Noyce appeared on the Italian version of Crimewatch, appealing for information about cut hair relating to both the Heather Barnett and Elisa Claps investigations.

The appeal came on the fifth anniversary of Heather's brutal killing. The 48-year-old had been attacked with a hammer-like object and stabbed.

New forensic evidence from strands of hair found in her right hand has revealed that it belonged to a UK resident who had travelled abroad twice during the three months before it was cut.

The hair's owner first visited the Valencia to Almeria area of eastern Spain and/or the Marseille to Perpignan area of southern France between 78 to 84 days earlier.

Eighteen to 26 days before the hair was cut the person involved was in an urban part of the Tampa region of Florida, according to Dr Stuart Black, a senior lecturer in environmental radioactivity at Reading University.

Following the appeal for information to track down Heather's killer, staff in a special incident room received 30 calls.

Det Supt Cooper said: "They were very positive and we are still keen to trace the person the cut hair came from. We are also keen to hear from anyone who has had their hair cut in suspicious circumstances."

If you have any information phone 01202 222222 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.