Teacher 'raped, murdered and left in dumpster'

A British teacher is feared murdered after she went missing during a night out in Qatar's popular nightclub scene.

Friends of Lauren Patterson, who had just flown to the Middle Eastern country after attending her grandmother's funeral, claim the 24-year-old had been raped and murdered, the Daily Mail reported.

Those close to her said she had told them she was being taken to the wrong house by a group of men.

The young woman was last seen by a friend with her ex-boyfriend and another Qatari man in a nightclub at the five-star La Cigale hotel in Doha

Though what happened next is still not clear.

It was claimed on Twitter that Patterson had been murdered.

"Lauren was raped and brutally murdered," a friend close to her said.

"Her body was found in the dumpsters behind La Cigale."

They also claim her ex-boyfriend had flown to Saudi Arabia, while the other man had been detained by Qatari police with a bruised lip.

The arrested man, a friend of Patterson's ex-boyfriend, told police his lip injury was from an altercation with a taxi driver.

He also claimed that Patterson had been dropped off in front of the wrong house by a taxi.

The man was later released after police searched his apartment.

'Murdered' Lauren Paterson with her boyfriend James Grima.
'Murdered' Lauren Paterson with her boyfriend James Grima.

Current boyfriend James Grima mourned the suspected death of his girlfriend in touching messages on a Facebook page set up to try and find her.

"She was a truly remarkable girl, my rock, always there for everyone. I know she's in heaven now in her Daddy's arms," he wrote.

‘Rest In Peace babe ... I will always look up at the sky cause you always were the brightest star and always will be.

‘I love you so much babe, I really do and I can’t get over the fact that you were taken away so cruelly, it really breaks my heart to think about it. I know you’re watching over us, wherever you are, and I know that I will meet you again one day."

He had earlier launched an online appeal to find the missing woman, but revealed a few hours later she had been found dead.

Her mother, Alison, also posted a tribute on the page: "Thank you so much to everyone for all their wonderful words about Lauren."

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said: A spokesman said: "We are aware of a British national, Lauren Patterson, reported missing in Qatar."

‘We are providing the family with consular assistance.’