The hunt for the killer of a Bradford teenager who was missing for 16 years has shifted to Germany for specialist scientific help.

Detectives working on the case of Donna Healey have enlisted the help of scientists, it was revealed yesterday as an inquest into her death opened in Leeds.

And her family said they could finally say goodbye to the teenager, who was 18 when she disappeared in 1988.

Detective Inspector Chris Binns, of Bradford South CID, said scientists in Germany were helping police identify the location or type of location where the body had been stored.

And he added ongoing research by analysts from the National Crime Faculty on all murders of women in the UK which had involved storage of the body could still link Donna's death to a known murder case.

Donna's body, which was discovered three years after her disappearance, has only recently been identified thanks to new advances in DNA technology.

Swabs taken from her mother, Lorraine Wilkinson, and brother Paul Healey, were used to identify a partly-clothed and mummified body found in an overgrown garden in Leeds.

Donna's funeral is likely to take place in the next few weeks.

Speaking outside Leeds Coroner's Court Mrs Wilkinson said: "It does give consolation. I know where she is now and I can lay her to rest."

She said the release of Donna's body meant the family could now move on.

Det Insp Binns added the circumstances leading up to Donna's death remained a mystery.

Donna was last seen when she appeared at Leeds magistrates court on a prostitution charge in March 1988.

Police believe she died shortly afterwards but her body was kept in an airtight environment before being dumped.

Donna worked as a prostitute in the Harehills areas of Leeds and detectives are continuing to appeal to anyone who knew her in 1988, particularly prostitutes or former prostitutes, to get in touch.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bradford South Police on (01274) 376459.

The inquest has now been adjourned.