Joanna Yeates could have been strangled with own sock

Murder victim Joanna Yeates could have been strangled with her own sock, which her killer might have taken from the scene as a trophy.

• Det Chief Inspector Phil Jones displays a sock similar to the one belonging to Joanna Yeates that is now missing. Picture: Getty Images

Police believe the grey ski sock may hold the key to solving the murder of the landscape architect whose snow-covered body was found on Christmas morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones, who is leading the murder inquiry, has not ruled out the possibility that the 25-year-old's killer may have used the sock to strangle her or that they kept it.

A sock handed in by a member of the public yesterday has been ruled out by police.

Miss Yeates was found dead in Longwood Lane, Failand, North Somerset, wearing just one sock.

She was not wearing her coat or boots either, but those items were recovered from her flat in Canynge Road, Clifton, Bristol.

Holding up a box containing a similar ski-style size-five grey sock, Mr Jones said: "I am here this morning to talk to you about a missing sock.

"When Jo was found on Christmas Day morning in Longwood Lane, although she was fully clothed she was not wearing her jacket, she was not wearing her boots and she was only wearing one sock.

"The jacket and the boots have been found at her home address. That would indicate that Jo had returned home.

"However, at this present time the sock has not been found.

It hasn't been found at Longwood Lane and it hasn't been found at her home address.

"It is described as a light grey sock with lighter detail on the toes, heel and shin."

The detective said he was "keeping an open mind" about whether the killer or killers could be keeping the sock as a trophy, or whether Miss Yeates was strangled with it.

Following the appeal for the missing sock - the type bought in an outdoor shop - a man approached police outside Miss Yeates's flat and handed over a grey sock.

Police later ruled the sock out of their investigations.

Mr Jones also confirmed that the killer or killers may have tried to put Miss Yeates's body over a wall into the quarry on Longwood Lane but instead left her on the grass verge.

"There are a number of theories about how Jo came to be in Longwood Lane and this is a possibility, yes," he said.

Mr Jones would not confirm directly that police were using a criminal profiler but said his team were receiving assistance from various expert sources.

"We continue to use all the available professional resources available to us including accredited experts who are specialists in their fields rather than generalists," he said.

"These resources have been used since the start of what was initially a missing person investigation and now a murder investigation."

But Mr Jones added: "This is a complex and meticulous investigation that will leave no stone unturned.

"I can assure you that we will find Jo's killers."

Suspect's name is 'blackened'

Joanna Yeates murder suspect Christopher Jefferies has had his name "blackened" by being linked to the murder, his lawyer claimed yesterday.

He said he was "extremely concerned" about how the former Clifton College teacher, 65, had been portrayed in the media. Rhys Mardon, of legal firm the Stokoe Partnership, who acted on Mr Jefferies' behalf during interviews with detectives, said: "His name has been blackened and his privacy invaded. This may ultimately prejudice his right to, and any prospect of, a fair trial."

Mr Jefferies, who is vice chairman of his local neighbourhood watch scheme, was arrested at his home on Thursday on suspicion of killing Joanna, 25. He was released on bail pending further inquiries.