Family tortured by Hither Green mum's missing body

On Tuesday (June 2) Carl Cooper was jailed for life for murdering Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm within 16 months of each other. 

Naomi was found stabbed to death in her Woolwich flat in February 2022 but Fiona’s body has not been found since she went missing from Hither Green in June last year. 

Speaking outside Woolwich Crown Court Naomi’s sister Helena Davies said: “This vile evil man took her life and we want to know why. We want to know where he put Fiona so we can bury her and lay her to rest.  

“In the beginning the police didn’t take her disappearance seriously and we believe this allowed him to get rid of most of the evidence. 

“On July 11 the murder team got involved and have been very supportive and are still looking for my sister. They have promised to continue to look for her.” 

The Met Police have offered a £20,000 reward for any information which leads to Fiona’s remains being located. 

During the sentencing a victim impact statement from Fiona’s mum was read out in court. 

She said: “Everything is made worse because we still don’t know where Fiona is, we still haven’t been able to give her a proper funeral or mourn her properly. 

“As a family we have been tortured by the fact that her body has never been found and her killer is too cowardly to tell the truth.” 

She added that she firmly believes Cooper had held getting rid of Fiona’s body. 

As he jailed Cooper for life Judge Justice Johnson told Cooper he still has a chance to tell police where Fiona’s body is to “give her family the chance to give her the funeral she deserves”. 

Fiona’s family described her as a “loving, caring” woman who was the life and soul of the party.   

Her mum said: “She was the sort of person who would have given a stranger her last five-pound note if they needed to eat.”   

During the trial the jury heard from a homeless man Fiona invited into her home for a hot shower and a meal – an act of kindness she regularly performed.   

Her children said: “Mum was so friendly. So was known by so many people in Blackheath and Lewisham. She would stop to ask about people’s days. Her love was contagious.”   

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Fiona Holm - described as a generous and loving mum (Image: Met Police) Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn said: “While I am relieved that he will be incarcerated in a place where he poses no threat to women, my greatest regret will always be that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge him earlier.  

“I am pleased that the evidence presented allowed the jury to see the true nature of Carl Cooper, who had gone to great lengths to remove traces of Fiona’s blood from his flat.  

“It was shocking for the court to discover her blood was on various items in his flat, including a wifi router, the television, living room walls, and on the curtains.  

"The trial being over does not mean that our efforts to find Fiona will stop. Despite Cooper cruelly denying Fiona’s family the opportunity to bury her, my team and I are, and will remain, committed to finding Fiona and returning her to her family.  

“We also will continue to investigate the possibility that Cooper had help to remove Fiona’s body, and will arrest and charge those I have sufficient evidence to do so.”