A man who was bludgeoned to death, dismembered, and buried at a London home around 60 years ago was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled, as mystery continues to surround his identity.
The victim’s body was hidden in the garden of the £1 million property in Wimbledon in the early 60s, and only discovered when the owner started work on a kitchen extension in 2017.
Builders found a collection of bones in the 1ft deep shallow grave in the garden of the four-bed Victorian terrace home in Cowdrey Road, Wimbledon.
And tests showed the victim had suffered severe head injuries, before his body was chopped up and concealed.
A police investigation stretched over seven years has failed to identify the victim or his killer, despite a public appeal last year with a 3D image of what experts believe he looked like.
At Westminster coroner’s court this week, Professor Fiona Wilcox, the Senior Coroner, recorded a verdict of “unlawful killing” for the man.
But the mystery of his identity continues.
The victim was recorded simply as “unknown male”, with no details recorded about his life.
“This gentleman's skeletal remains were discovered by builders”, recorded the coroner, about the find on September 28, 2017.
“There was evidence of inflicted injury that led to his death followed by dismemberment. He was killed in the early 1960s.”
She put the cause of death as “skeletal findings consistent with severe head injuries”.
After the police appeal last year, the present-day owner of the property told The Standard of her shock at the discovery of the bones, around 14 months after she moved in.
At first, they thought it was a model skeleton used by medical students. She said: “I said to them, ‘You must be kidding? I was in total shock.
“They had dug down a foot into clay. There was the skeleton and some clothes — a shirt, tie and trousers. We called the police and the forensics came, it was like we were in the middle of a crime drama. I didn’t tell my children as I did not want to scare them.”
Some of the man’s clothing - a shirt, red silk tie, trousers, shoes and socks – had been preserved, showing 60s fashions.
Police said he is believed to be of Asian ancestry, aged 35 to 55, about 5ft 7in and of muscular build.
They drew a blank when searching missing persons reports, NHS and police forensic databases, and tracked down and ruled out all living past occupants of the home.
Detectives also learned that the man had a sugar-free diet for most of his life because his teeth showed no evidence of dentistry.
“This is a 60-year-old mystery and information could help us solve it”, said Detective chief inspector Kate Kieran in 2023, as she led the investigation.
“There was a bash to the skull which our pathologist put down as the cause of death. That turns it into a murder. For a host of reasons, they’ve buried him in the back garden rather than calling anyone. Someone must know who the victim is. We’d like to put a name to him.”
