Bennett STILL TRYING TO BLAME THE BOYFRIEND

Point taken, Freda, BUT on a closer look, the comments are not inconsistent, look for example at:

GUARDIAN: He knew at once that something terrible had happened. Yeates was absent but her coat, keys and purse were there" 

DAILY MAIL: "On Sunday night I came home at about 8pm after staying with my family in Sheffield, but Jo wasn’t home. ‘Then when I arrived home it was obvious our cat had been left on his own and was going mad. I waited up for her until about midnight and then when she didn’t return I started to get really worried." 

In BOTH versions, he recognised something was wrong INSTANTLY:

No Jo
Cat going mad
Jo's coat
Jo's purse
Jo's keys.

We are then asked to believe that he waited for 4 hours before (his own words) 'I started to get really worried'.

Remind me please, what time did he actually 'phone the police?

Friday 17 December was one of the coldest December nights for a century, around 8C (13F) below normal in the south of England, not a great moment for attempting a 200-mile journey with a flat battery only just put on charge.