A BT engineer from Dartford who killed his mother before committing suicide has been named in court as a potential suspect for the frenzied knife murder of Claire Tiltman.

Peter Rivers was the second man said by Colin Ash-Smith's defence team to be a "realistic possibility" for the 16-year-old schoolgirl's death in January 1993.

The first was identified as convicted killer Robert Napper, who was jailed for the manslaughters of Rachel Nickell in July 1992 and Samantha Bissett and her four-year-old daughter in November 1993.

Mr Rivers tried to strangle his elderly mother Millicent with a toilet chain before stabbing her to death at their home in Wellcome Avenue a year after Claire's murder in an alleyway off London Road, Greenhithe.

"Mum was beginning to suspect me of killing Claire" - Peter River's suicide note

Mr Rivers, who was in his 40s, then slit his wrists, doused himself in petrol and set himself alight.

Police later found a suicide note in which he wrote: "Mum was beginning to suspect me of killing Claire."

The finger of suspicion was pointed at Mr Rivers by Ash-Smith's defence team at the start of their case.

However, David Nathan QC told the jury at Inner London Crown Court he did not have to prove to them that either Napper or Mr Rivers murdered Claire, just that they considered that there was a "realistic possibility".

Mr Rivers killed his mother and himself in February 1994. The jury was told to consider his suicide note "carefully" and why an otherwise devoted son had behaved in such a "terrible and extraordinary" way.

"The police, of course, investigated and there was no reason to doubt that the Claire he was talking about was Claire Tiltman," said Mr Nathan.

He added that one possible explanation for Mr Rivers' "catastrophic reaction" was that he could no longer live with the "shame and guilt" of what he had done.

Mr Nathan said a TV news report of Mr Rivers' inquest in May 1994 led to a viewer identifying him as a man he had seen in London Road on the night of Claire's murder.

However, the jury heard that the witness had since died.

Ash-Smith, 46, and formerly from Swanscombe, denies Claire's murder.