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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Matthew Dresch

Sisters desperate to find brother's decapitated head 15 years on from his murder

Two sisters are desperate to find their murdered brother's head 15 years after his decapitated body was discovered in the woods.

Ashley Dighton was last seen leaving the shops in Ashford, Kent, in June 2007 - and his headless corpse was located nearby a month later.

No-one has ever been charged over the horrific murder of the 19-year-old, despite four people being arrested.

Ashley's sisters Amanda and Shawny are still trying to find their brother's killer and his head so they can finally lay him to rest.

Amanda told The Sun: "It's just so hard to believe because you just think that everyone’s been wrong and that he’s just going to walk through the door.

Ashley's sisters Amanda and Shawny are appealing for information about his killer (Steve Bainbridge)

“It’d mean so much to our family to get his head back. It would be a massive deal because to us he’s not laid to rest.

"If his head was found we could actually lay him to rest.”

She described the last 15 years as a "nightmare" and said it feels like the police no longer care because the murder was so long ago.

Ashley's sister Shawny added that she she is still hopeful the family will find out who killed her brother.

CCTV footage of the last time Ashley was seen in Ashford's County Square (Internet Unknown)

The mum-of-six said it would help if they knew where his head was as he is not "in the ground properly" due to missing body parts.

When Ashley was found, parts of his arms and fingertips had gone.

In another grisly twist, one of his ribs was found with his T-shirt in a carrier bag near his remains.

Shawny previously said: "How is it fair? The state they left him in, they cut his head off.

Shawny said her brother was the 'nicest man you could ever meet' (ITV)

"His finger tips were nowhere to be seen, neither was his head.

"His sick attackers even have the cheek to go back to his body and strip him naked. It wasn't enough that they killed him but they had to chop him up too? It's sick.

"He had one rib in a bag that was still stuck to his clothes. I don't understand how anyone could possibly do a crime like this.

"Ashley was the nicest man you could ever meet, he didn’t like to see anyone one down.

"He wouldn't harm a fly but someone murdered him and took him from us."

Ashley’s body was so badly decomposed that the pathologist could not determine a cause of death.

An open verdict was recorded at his inquest in December 2008.

The pathologist found his clothes had been removed while the body was in an advanced state of decomposition.

Shawny believes her brother was mistaken for someone with a large drug debt.

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The sisters are now appealing for anyone who has information about his murder to step forward.

Kent Police said it will never close an investigation into a serious crime, adding that its cold case team periodically reviews unsolved offences.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber told The Sun that if any new information came to light it would be investigated.

Anyone who thinks they can help is being urged to contact the police on 101.

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