Vanuatu suspect evades dragnet

A MAN wanted by police over the murder of an Australian woman in Vanuatu evaded capture yesterday, but local authorities remain confident his arrest is imminent.
Lyndall Jacques, 69, was found dead by her gardener on Monday at her home on the outskirts of the capital, Port Vila.

Police denied earlier reports that the former school teacher's throat had been cut but said she appeared to have been bashed and sexually assaulted. Her house, in the expatriate enclave of Devil's Point, was burgled in the weekend attack.
Vanuatu Deputy Police Commissioner Arthur Caulton told The Australian that two officers had attempted to catch the main suspect yesterday but he escaped.
"We know he was very dangerous because he is always walking around with knives," Lieutenant Colonel Caulton said.

"One policeman tried to talk to him. They did some struggling and he got away."
Lieutenant Colonel Caulton said it was only a matter of time before the man was found, but warned that members of the local community could take the matter into their own hands.
Ms Jacques had reported an attempted break-in at her house last year and it was possible the suspect knew she lived alone, he said. "He can run but he cannot hide. We are worried that if we don't find him first, his community will probably bring him in with broken legs and hands. So we want to find him first."

Two Australian Federal Police forensic officers flew to Port Vila on Tuesday, and a pathologist is expected to arrive from New Caledonia today.
The case has shocked the normally quiet Pacific nation, and comes after a local man was found dead in suspicious circumstances on the weekend.

Lieutenant Colonel Caulton said the two cases, both believed to be murder, were unrelated.
The man suspected of killing Ms Jacques could be arrested as early as this morning, he said. "At the moment, we have a lead to a suspect that we believe was involved. We, of course, are doing everything we can do to hunt down this person."

Lieutenant Colonel Caulton insisted Vanuatu remained safe for Australians despite local concerns about rising levels of violence towards foreigners in Port Vila.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said Australian travel advice specifically noted the potential for violence in Vanuatu against expatriates.

"Robberies, assaults and sexual assaults have occurred against foreigners, when alone or in the company of others, particularly at night," the travel advice says. "Burglaries are becoming an increasing problem."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23035731-2703,00.html