Murders of Barry Lewis and Jason Swift may be linked to Brighton case
————————————————–
Times, The (London, England)-April 17, 1986

Detectives are investigating a possible link between the murder of two schoolboys and a savage homosexual attack on a boy aged six in Brighton three years ago.

Links with other child abductions have not been ruled out.

Scotland Yard and Essex police believe the same man is responsible for murdering Barry Lewis, aged six, and Jason Swift, aged 14, who were both drugged before being suffocated.

The boys’ bodies were discovered five months ago, six miles apart, in the Essex countryside. The police suspect the killer is a homosexual who could strike again.

Detectives believed the deaths could be linked after forensic tests showed that both the dead boys had been given the same drug and had died from asphyxiation.

Both bodies were found lying naked in a similar position and no clothing was recovered.

Yesterday a joint investigation, codenamed ‘Operation Stranger’ was launched. It will be linked by ‘Holmes’, a Home Office computer, which will help 100 detectives analyse information.

The investigation has already spread to Brighton, where a possible link between the serious sex attack on a boy aged six in August 1983 has not been ruled out