A WOMAN was last night being held in custody on suspicion of murder after a man was found fatally stabbed in Abingdon.

A tribute page was set up on Facebook for the man named locally as Robert ‘Raggy’ Smith although police last night were still working to formally release his identity.

Forensic officers were at the scene near the towpath off Bridge Street and the area, where a number of boats were moored, was cordoned off by police.

Police said they were called to the scene shortly after 7.30pm on Sunday following reports a man in his 30s had been stabbed.

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It is thought he was attacked on a boat moored next to the Thames Path, about 100 metres west of Abingdon Bridge.

People in the area spoke of their shock at what had happened.

Valerie and John Barlow, who were staying on a narrowboat nearby, said they heard a loud bang on the roof of the boat and saw the man lying on the ground.

Oxford Mail:

  • Valerie and John Barlow

Mrs Barlow, 68, said: “We had moored at about 6pm and at 7pm, while it was quiet, we suddenly heard this loud ‘bang’ on the roof of the boat.

“A man said something including the word ‘stabbed’, but at first I told my husband not to go out there because I was concerned.

“But then he said ‘what if someone is hurt?’ So he opened the doors and outside there was a young man lying on the ground.

“We rang the police and stayed out there, shining our torch so they would know where we were.”

The couple lived in Abingdon 20 years ago and were visiting from Cambridgeshire on their new narrowboat for a holiday.

They had chosen the spot – popular with holidaymakers – because it is available for five days of free mooring.

Mrs Barlow said: “It has been such a shock.”

Residents living nearby reported seeing a police helicopter overhead on Sunday night.

One woman told the Oxford Mail: “It was very loud and they were using a searchlight.”

Police said the man was taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, but he died of his injuries.

They said the woman arrested on suspicion of murder was 40.

Officers put up a tent on the towpath and are understood to have taken forensic samples from Mr and Mrs Barlow’s boat.

James Ward, a boater also moored on the River Thames, said he had known the man as Robert for three to four months and had arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the incident.

Oxford Mail:

  • Police at the scene of the incident by the River Thames in Abingdon yesterday. Picture: Damian Halliwell

The 39-year-old said: “I knew Robert. We were friends but hadn’t known each other for a long time.

“The boating community in Abingdon is quite closely knit because there aren’t that many of us.

“I got to where he was stabbed at about the same time as the police and saw him on the towpath. He had been living in a tent but had recently moved on to a blue and white boat.”

Thames Valley Police senior investigator Det Chief Insp Kevin Brown said the force was undertaking “extensive forensic work” at the scene on the towpath.

He said: “We believe this to be an isolated incident and would like to reassure local residents that there is no threat to the wider community.

“I would ask for their understanding and cooperation during this critical part of the investigation.”

After news broke of Mr Smith’s death on social media, tributes flooded in for the man, with friends saying he was a well-known figure in his home town of Faringdon.

A group RIP Robert ‘Raggy’ Smith soon had more than 160 likes.

One of his friends wrote: “Raggy always made us smile here in Faringdon. It will not be the same, our town is in shock.”

Another wrote: “RIP Raggy... Gonna miss your moaning whenever I go and stay at your mums. Gonna miss ya cuz”.

Lilian Ash, who runs a bakery in London Street, Faringdon, said she had known him from a young age.

She said: “Robert was a nice lad and a well-known person. His family are a Faringdon family. He used to come and visit my shop, I spoke to him last week.

“I have been here for a lot of years and you see these people as children grow up from little tots.

“It’s terrible when you hear that things have gone wrong.”

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