A SOLDIER suspected of murdering Sally Geeson, the forensic science student who disappeared on New Year’s Day, has killed himself in Glasgow.

Lance Corporal David Atkinson, who had recently returned from service in Iraq, set himself on fire before jumping to his death from an upper floor of the Corus hotel in the city centre at 4.30am on Saturday.

Detectives had been hunting for Atkinson, 31, since last Wednesday when the Ministry of Defence told Cambridgeshire police he was absent without leave.

Atkinson, who served with 23 Engineer Regiment, had set light to his quarters at Waterbeach barracks north of Cambridge before disappearing on New Year’s Day. He fled just hours after Ms Geeson, 22, was last seen alive on New Year’s Eve at The Avery pub in Cambridge.

Her naked body was found at 4pm on Friday near the American Military Cemetery in Madingley, a few miles from where she was last seen. She had been strangled. A little over 12 hours later Atkinson threw himself from the hotel window on to James Watt Street, Glasgow, his home town.

His remains were so badly burned that a formal identification has not yet been possible. Police are, however, satisfied that the body is that of the man they have been hunting for.

It is understood that during his military career Atkinson had been investigated after complaints were made against him involving sex and violence.

Despite public appeals for help in finding Ms Geeson — which saw her family make emotional statements and her twin sister take part in a reconstruction — behind the scenes police were sure they knew who her killer was.

The day after the message was received from the MoD, Atkinson was designated a “significant person” in the inquiry. Officers issued an alert to all forces to be on the lookout for him. A forensic telecommunications expert was assigned to the inquiry to track the activity and whereabouts of Atkinson’s mobile phone. It was discovered to have been in use close to where Ms Geeson’s remains were found. Detectives believe that Atkinson returned to the wooded area where he left the student’s body to try to cover his tracks.”

An investigation source said: “Technology allowed us to know where he had been and that included the general area where Sally’s body was found. We assume he had gone back to try to get rid of anything that could link the murder to him.”

After going back to the body Atkinson drove 350 miles to Glasgow where he hid out for several days before committing suicide. It is understood that police found his Range Rover car in the city late last week.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: “A man wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of Cambridge student Sally Geeson may have died after an incident at a hotel in Glasgow.

“Although formal identification has not yet taken place, officers are investigating reports that a man who died in an incident at a hotel in the centre of Glasgow on Saturday, January 8, could be Lance Corporal Atkinson.

“Police in Strathclyde are not treating the man’s death as suspicious.”

The Ministry of Defence said it was co-operating fully with the police inquiry.

23 Engineer Regiment, a newly formed unit attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Army’s prime go-anywhere parachute-trained force which fought in Iraq in 2003.

Atkinson’s unit had recently returned from a tour of Iraq, where combat engineering skills were in great demand because of the risks from mines and roadside bombs.

A post-mortem examination on Ms Geeson’s body over the weekend revealed that she had been asphyxiated. She was due to start her final examinations at Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge this week.

Ms Geeson’s father, Laurence, 51, who formally identified his daughter’s body on Saturday, visited the place where she was found yesterday and left a bouquet of daisies.

Another tribute, placed by her student housemates, read: “To our beloved Sally. There won’t be a day go by when we won’t think of you, our housemate and friend. All our love RIP.”

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