Mystery of skull in skip still unsolved
POLICE have revealed they still looking to identity a teenage girl whose skull was dumped in a Birmingham skip over a decade ago.
The human remains were discovered on Oxford Road, Acocks Green, on May 25 in 2006 by a man clearing rubble from his garden.
Forensic tests showed the skull was thought to belong to a teenage girl who had lived in the 1950s.
In a bid to solve the macabre mystery, a DNA sample was obtained and carbon dating conducted by experts at Oxford University – but the tests only led to more questions.
The skull was later submitted to Dr Caroline Wilkinson, of the University of Dundee, a specialist in forensic anthropology, to create an image of how the girl would have looked.
Although unable to determine hair or eye colour, her teeth were said to be “goofy.”
Leading the skull investigation back in 2006, Detective Chief Insp Sally Holmes had said: “There is no evidence this is a murder enquiry. The skull has been thoroughly examined and there is nothing to suggest any trauma. The university said that whoever the skull belonged to would have been alive in the 1950s, which obviously makes it more imperative that someone comes forward and assists in the investigation.
“It is not impossible that somebody who was alive in the 1950s may remember them.”
Yet despite national appeals for information, the identity remains a mystery to this day.
Robert Giles, a criminologist from Northern Ireland, has one theory which he passed on to police.
He believed the skull could belong to Birmingham student nurse Maria Aldridge who went missing, aged 17, in 1968 from Birmingham’s Dudley Road Hospital.
Her sister Cathy Phillips made an emotional appeal earlier this month for new information.
Mr Giles pointed to striking similarities including the skull belonging to a teenage girl who lived in the 1950s and that she had protruding teeth, like Maria. The remains were also found a few miles from where she vanished from. He first contacted West Midlands Police in 2014, but said he heard nothing back. He added: “I fear they may have overlooked the possibility of the skull belonging to Maria Aldridge. The forensic findings of the skull had striking similarities with Maria Aldridge.
“It would just be great to some closure to Maria’s family.”
Unfortunately the DNA of Maria Aldridge did not match that of the skull. bring