Murder Probe Launched As 'Beautiful' Girl, 16, Found Dead In Car Following Crash

Murder Probe Launched As 'Beautiful' Girl, 16, Found Dead In Car Following Crash

A murder inquiry has been launched after a "beautiful, talented and loving" teenage schoolgirl was found dead on the back seat of a car following a crash.

Megan Bannister, 16, was discovered on the back seat of a black Vauxhall Astra, after the crash at about 11.45am on Sunday in Enderby, Leicestershire.

Police said the death is not believed to have been the result of the collision between the car and a motorbike, and two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

In a statement, the family of the teenager, who was from Leicester, said: "Megan was our beautiful, talented, loving daughter and sister, and our hearts have been utterly broken by her death.

"The thought of life without Megan is impossible to imagine, and we cannot adequately express in words the sense of numbness and overwhelming grief we feel at her loss.

"She was bright, clever, and a responsible person who loved her family and her many friends. She had a strong self-will and had set her heart on training to becoming a midwife."

The family added: "Knowing how confident and determined she was, we have no doubt she would have realised that dream.

"As a family, we are doing our best to support one another at this harrowing time, and would respectfully ask that we are left alone to grieve in private without intrusion."

The two arrested men, aged 27 and 28, are in custody being questioned by detectives.

A police spokesman said: "An initial post-mortem examination was inconclusive and further tests are being conducted to find out exactly how Megan died.

"However, her death is not believed to have been the result of a road traffic collision."

Two bunches of flowers with a sympathy card and a note attached have been placed at the scene of the collision, on a straight two-lane stretch of the B582 around a mile outside Enderby.

The note attached to one of the floral tributes read: "Megan, I'm so sorry we couldn't save you, my heart is broken but you're in a safe place now. RIP Little Angel xxxx."

Wigston College, where Megan was due to take a GCSE exam on Tuesday, said the school community had been devastated by the news of her death.

The school said in a statement: "Megan was funny, friendly and good. She was working so hard for her GCSEs and she was due to take her first one today.

"Her dream was to be a midwife – she'd have been brilliant at it. She was popular and had a wide range of friends: she liked people and they liked her and this is how we will remember her.

"Our thoughts are very much with her family at this impossibly difficult time."

The statement added: "We are working with the police to do everything we can to help them, but also to help, support and comfort her friends and the people that knew her at our college."