Human remains discovered in Sutton-in-Ashfield were "obviously and intentionally buried by someone", according to police. The skeleton was found in a grave, alongside a pair of socks and a man's shoe.
In a press conference held at the Sherwood Lodge Headquarters on Wednesday, May 24, Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin has provided an update on the circumstances in which the human remains were found.
Officers were first called to the scene in Coxmoor Road after a member of the public came across bones on April 26. The area was cordoned off, and a no fly-zone was enforced over the scene including drones, while officers carried out their inquiries.
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Although the cause of death is yet to be ascertained, it is believed that the person had sustained "traumatic injuries". Police have now launched a murder investigation.
And this inquiry has been turned into a murder investigation for two reasons, as ACC Griffin explained: “We are now treating this as a murder investigation. An investigation has been launched and is being led by our colleagues from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.
"And there is a team of trained detectives working their way through this inquiry. We are able to say that it is for two reasons. The first of those is that the body does have a number of injuries."
He continued: "And the second reason is the various very obvious circumstances in which this person has been found. To describe it as a grave would be accurate. It is somewhere between four and six feet deep. So very obviously, and intentionally, buried there by somebody.”
ACC Griffin was asked if the bones could potentially be 20 years old. He told the press: “They could be 20 years old, but until the radiocarbon dating has been completed, we cannot say with any degree of certainty.
"But by virtue of the decomposition and the fact that the body is decomposed to the extent where there is no flesh left, we know there is at least five years and probably more than that.”
The body of the deceased has not been identified. There were three no body murder cases which have been ruled out, including James Brodie, who has been missing for 20 years.
Brodie is suspected to have shot and killed Marian Bates during a robbery at her jewellery shop in Arnold in 2003. Police have also ruled out the possibility of the remains being those of Bogdan Nawrocki, a Polish immigrant who was murdered in 2014.
ACC Griffin added: "There are also a number of other outstanding people missing from home. And so far we have been able to exclude those people as well.”
He continued: "I think the important thing to say is that we have so far been unable to identify the deceased person.
“So that's the person that we recovered from the grave. And that is despite a fairly lengthy and again, meticulous inquiry, which did involve DNA, national DNA databases and so on. And so, we're actually here today to make an appeal directly to the public for their help."
Police said that at this moment in time the body cannot be identified, and more work needs to be carried out on the remains. This includes radiocarbon dating testing which will attempt to determine when the individual died.
The results of which can take up to several months. A team of detectives are now following a number of lines of inquiry.
This includes examining the Missing Person database, analysis of clothing recovered from the scene, further consultation with experts to assist in identifying the man, plus additional tests to find out how the person died.
ACC Griffin shared a message of reassurance to the general public, saying members of the public have nothing to fear. “This area is a really, really nice area, it is used by members of the public almost every day walking dogs, generally walking," he said.
“It is used currently and and perfectly safely - it is an area with a very low crime. And I think it's important for people to have in mind that what we are talking about here today is a crime that took place a fairly significant time ago and we don't know that it was even a scene of the homicide.
“So the public have nothing to fear in that area. The woods and the surrounding area are perfectly safe.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room by clicking the online link below https://mipp.police.uk/operation/33EM22E48-PO1. Alternatively you can call our incident room on 0800 096 0095.
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