Friend saw Hannah moments before her abduction

AN Oxford graduate told a court how she waved goodbye to Hannah Foster only minutes before her friend was abducted and killed.

Helen Wilkinson, who is now studying for a PhD, described their night out in March 2003 when they were still at school.

She told the jury at Winchester Crown Court she had boarded a bus home and waved goodbye through the window. Soon after, Hannah was snatched by a passing motorist as she walked home. She was then raped and strangled.

Miss Wilkinson said the pair had been friends since the age of 11 and that on the night Hannah was abducted, the two both then 17 met up after a day's studying at Barton Peveril College to go to several pubs in the Portswood area of Southampton.

She was adamant that the only alcoholic drink they had was a double vodka, lime and lemonade.

At about 10.30pm the girls talked about moving to another bar. Miss Wilkinson said: "We started to walk there and Hannah said: 'Shall we just not bother?' and I said 'yes', and we turned back."

The jury was shown CCTV footage captured at 10.43 that evening, of the two girls walking past the NatWest bank.

Miss Wilkinson said: "The bus came, we saw it at a distance, and Hannah decided to start off."

Nicholas Haggan, prosecuting, asked: "As the bus moved away, did you see Hannah?" Miss Wilkinson replied: "She turned and waved. I waved."

Hannah's body was found two days later dumped at a roadside in the outskirts of Southampton.

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, 40, a sandwich delivery van driver, has pleaded not guilty to her murder, rape, kidnap and false imprisonment. The case continues.

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