A MARRIED man revealed last night he has received death threats following the disappearance of shopworker Jenny Nicholl.

David Hodgson spoke out only hours after police said they now believed that the missing 20-year-old had been murdered.

Mr Hodgson, of Richmond, North Yorkshire, was interviewed by police after it emerged he once had a close friendship with her.

Speaking for the first time about the case, Mr Hodgson told The Northern Echo that he had received death threats since Jenny's disappearance four months ago.

Yesterday, detectives confirmed that the case was now a murder inquiry, but last night Mr Hodgson said he was convinced that Jenny was still alive.

"Who would hurt her? She got on with everybody," he said.

He believed she had run away and might be in hiding in the south of England.

"I've already received death threats," he said.

A flat searched by police last month, in Richmond, was rented previously by his brother, Robert, who was last night unavailable for comment.

Detectives are convinced that Jenny knew her killer. Officers have also revealed the murderer may have sent texts to Jenny's friends and family from her phone to throw them off the scent.

Two of her friends received messages sent from the Carlisle area of Cumbria on July 9.

Five days later, her father, Brian, received a text sent from the Jedburgh area, in the Scottish Borders.

Detective Inspector Pete Martin said: "The content of the messages included personal information, which would only be known to someone who knew Jenny, such as mechanical problems with her car and details of her friends.

"These text messages were clearly intended to give the impression that Jenny was safe and well, when the opposite was in fact true."

He added: "We now have to face the fact it is extremely unlikely she is alive and the investigation is in fact being treated as a murder inquiry."

Det Insp Martin said Jenny was a typical teenage girl and was not a tearaway.

She lived with her parents, who last saw her on June 30 when she left the family home in Richmond, saying she planned not to return that night. Jenny failed to turn up for work two days later and was reported missing on Monday, July 4.

The launch of the murder inquiry was announced yesterday at the Holly Hill pub, in Richmond, where her car - a white Rover 214I, registration P562 KSX - was found on July 4. Her phone, a Nokia 5210, has never been recovered

New security camera footage was released showing Jenny withdrawing money from the NatWest bank, in Richmond, three days prior to her disappearance.

More than £200 in Jenny's account has not been touched, say police.

Jenny also paid for 25 sessions at Tan Express tanning salon, in the town's Finkle Street, days before her disappearance, but used only two.

Det Insp Martin said the key to the investigation lay in Jenny's personal relationships, adding that it was vital detectives learnt what happened between Thursday, June 30, and Monday, July 4.

He said: "I need to piece together Jenny's movements during that time, and I need to hear from anyone who saw Jenny during that time.

"I also need to know where was she? Who was she with? Why was her car left on the car park here at this pub? When was it left here?

"Jenny had visited this part of town on several occasions - why? Was she meeting someone, and if so, who?"

Her parents, Brian and Ann Nicholl, were too upset to comment yesterday.

Anyone who can help catch Jenny's killer is asked to call the witness line on (01423) 539334, or the Richmond incident room on (01609) 789347.