A second and third teenager have been arrested in connection with the “savage and brutal” murder of a 14-year-old boy found dead in a cemetery. The men, aged 19 and 16, were arrested on Thursday evening, while police were granted a further 36 hours to interview an 18-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday.
Jordan Watson, 14, was discovered in a secluded part of Upperby cemetery, next to St John the Baptist church in Manor Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, by a member of the public at about 7.45am on Tuesday, police said. A postmortem examination revealed that the teenager, from Ridley Road in the city, died from multiple wounds to the head and neck caused by a sharp implement.
Jordan was described by friends and family as a cheeky, good-humoured boy. In a statement released on Wednesday night, they said: “Jordan’s favourite expression was yolo – you only live once. Jordan lived by this motto – he had a strong personality and a love of the outdoors. Jordan could not be talked out of doing something he really wanted to do.”
“Jordan was very loyal, he stuck up for his brothers and sisters, he was scared of nothing. Jordan adored his girlfriend, Justine, and they spent many happy times together. Jordan loved Liverpool football club and, like his favourite team, he will never walk alone.”
Cumbria police have appealed for help from the public, particularly anyone who saw or heard anything unusual in the area, or saw Jordan on Monday or the early hours of Tuesday morning. He is described as 5ft tall, of slim build and with brown hair. He was wearing a grey and blue hooded top, black Adidas T-shirt, grey tracksuit bottoms and grey Nike trainers.
Det Supt Andy Slattery said: “We remain open-minded and are pursuing various lines of inquiry, so would still like to hear from anyone with information about Jordan’s whereabouts leading up to his death. We still also want to speak to anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the area on Monday evening or the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“The cemetery will remain closed while searches and investigations continue and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We thank the community for their patience and understanding.”
Jordan was last seen at approximately 11pm by a friend, at an address near the cemetery, police said.
