AN EX-BOYFRIEND of nursery assistant Amanda Edwards believes her killer took the 'wimps' way out'.

Kevin Gibson, 25, of Short Street, Melksham, said he was praying for the 21-year-old's safe return the day before detectives found Amanda's body, wrapped in packaging and buried in a shallow grave on a Malmesbury building site.

In a dramatic twist, Amanda's suspected killer, 42-year-old convicted rapist, Ian Cortis, was found hanging at a house in Woodsage Way, Calne, around the same time as Friday's grim discovery.

Mr Gibson had a string of dates with Amanda after meeting her in a Swindon bar in 2001, keeping in contact after his Territorial Army commitments brought their brief relationship to an end.

Realising it was Amanda at the centre of a missing person inquiry after spotting her photograph in a national newspaper, Mr Gibson said: "I didn't want to think the worst, but you just do.

"Obviously when I first heard about the building site I knew it was bad.

"I believe in an eye for an eye. If it was Amanda's killer who was found hanging, then it is the best thing for him, even though it is the wimps' way out.

"You see these murder cases on TV and it is upsetting, but you don't know the people involved. This time I did and it hit home.

"I cannot even imagine what her parents are feeling. It must be the most awful feeling in the world.

"It must also be hard for them not knowing how Amanda died and the circumstances surrounding her death. It is all a bit surreal."

Remembering his time with Amanda, Mr Gibson, a gas contractor with Transco, called the 21-year-old an 'easy-going' and 'bubbly' girl.

He said: "We met in Edwards in Swindon and we went out on a few dates. I was out with work colleagues, approached her and started chatting to her. She was a really nice bubbly girl and so easy to talk to. When we were going out she used to come over and see me in Melksham, and we would go out to the cinema. I tried to keep in touch because she was such a nice girl. I would see her around and stop and say hello and ask her how she was doing."

Mr Gibson, who served on the front line in the recent Iraqi conflict, said he hoped Amanda's heartbroken family would get the answers they were looking for.