to give evidence at the inquiry into serious crimes on the Island.

Dave Middleton has been invited to attend the hearing and will have his expenses paid by The Commission of Inquiry, launched two weeks ago to study the detection and prevention of crime in Bermuda.

Last night Mr. Middleton's friend, Rick Meens, with whom Rebecca was staying in Bermuda when she was raped, tortured and stabbed to death in July 1996, said there was no way he would miss the opportunity to officially speak out about the case.

Mr. Meens said: "He is definitely coming to the inquiry to give evidence.

But, obviously, he works and there are constraints to do with that, but once he has sorted all that out, he will be here.

"I think he very much wants to speak at the inquiry about Rebecca's case.'' Controversy has surrounded the investigation into Rebecca's murder after detectives failed to get either one of the two suspects convicted of her murder.

Justis Smith was acquitted of premeditated murder after Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux deemed there to be insufficient evidence for it to go to the Supreme Court jury -- a decision later labelled "astonishing'' by the Privy Council.

Middleton father to appear at inquiry His co-accused Kirk Mundy received just five years after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact. After Mundy had appeared in court and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, experts revealed that two people were probably involved in Rebecca's death -- one person to hold her down while the other inflicted the torture wounds.

And DNA test results showed Mundy's semen inside Rebecca's vagina, despite his claim that he had had consensual sex with the teenager, using a condom.

During the commission of inquiry, Police have come under fire from defence barristers and Chief Magistrate Archie Warner, who have claimed that officers are only interested in getting convictions from statements.

And lawyer Mark Pettingill, who defended Mundy, said the Middleton case was a "fiasco'' with detectives failing to carry out basic forensic procedures that may have secured at least one murder conviction.

On Friday, chairman of the commission Justice Stanley Moore said he was inviting both Mr. Middleton and Attorney General at the time of the Middleton case Elliott Mottley to attend and give evidence.

However, he said he had decided not to invite Police Commissioner at the time Colin Coxall, who has told The Royal Gazette that he would consider coming if asked.

The commission has no power to subpoena people from overseas, only to invite them.

But last night, Mr. Meens said he and Mr. Middleton were very disappointed that Mr. Coxall had not been at least invited by the commission.

He said: "I don't understand why they have failed to invite Colin Coxall.

What have they got to lose by inviting him to give evidence? We want Mottley to appear, but we also want Coxall. He could be the final piece of the jigsaw.''