COP ON TV AS ‘FRED THE HEAD’ PROBE TURNS 50
INVESTIGATION INT0 1971 DEATH IS BURTON’S OLDEST UNSOLVED MURDER CASE
BURTON’S oldest unsolved murder investigation has been given new life after its lead detective appeared on BBC Crimewatch Live to mark the 50th anniversary of the victim’s gruesome discovery.
Today is exactly 50 years since a body was discovered in a shallow grave beside the River Trent in Burton, leading to one of the county’s most baffling murder cases.
Yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Ison, of Staffordshire Police, appeared on BBC Crimewatch Live to discuss the case and launch a renewed appeal to find out who the victim was and who killed him.
It comes half a century after, at around 7.30pm on March 27, 1971, an off-duty special constable made the grim discovery while walking in the Newton Road area.
He saw a fragment of bone, which turned out to be the skull of a man.
It has been an enduring mystery ever since and detectives have made numerous appeals to find who the man, affectionately nicknamed “Fred”, was and what had happened to him.
DCI Ison initially made an appeal on BBC’S Crimewatch Roadshow in 2017 and has renewed his appeal this year. He still believes someone out there knows the identity of the man.
He said: “We have to accept it’s been a long time and we’ve exhausted so many lines of enquiry. We don’t have any new lines to pursue at this time, but we would still welcome any relevant and useful information the public can provide.
“Someone knows this man’s identity. He’s someone’s brother or friend or son and, despite the passing of so many years, we still want to know who he is.
“Fifty years is a long time, but we have never given up on trying to solve this case. We’d appeal for anyone who has information that might help to come forward and talk to us.”
Television researchers had previously also spoken to retired detective Peter Hough in 2017. He was the original senior investigating officer.
DCI Ison said Mr Hough had always kept in touch, hoping the mystery of Fred’s identity and death would one day be resolved. Sadly, Mr Hough died last year.
Detectives worked closely with Professor Caroline Wilkinson of Liverpool University – a renowned expert in facial reconstruction – in a bid to finally resolve the mystery.
The latest technology and methods were used to reconstruct Fred by generating possible parental and sibling matches from DNA extracted from his bone.
Shortly after the previous Crimewatch appeal, the family of a man who went missing from mid-wales in 1970 contacted detectives, but his brother’s DNA was not a match.
Fred has been the subject of endless newspaper and magazine articles, TV documentaries, appeals and at least one book.
For those old enough to recall, at the time, T-rex were at number one with Hot Love and Michael Caine’s gangster movie Get Carter had just been released at the cinema.
Despite previous appeals and investigations, police have never been able to identify the man who was found buried with his hands tied behind his back.
Although Fred’s body was discovered in March 1971, it was estimated he had been buried for between sixto-12 months, so would have been brought to the site in 1970.
As previous appeals, and reconstructions, took place in 2017 and 2006, DCI Ison said there were unlikely to be any more in the future.
Fred is described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, of slight build with medium short brown hair no longer than three inches in length.
He was found wearing only socks and a wedding ring and his hands and feet were bound with twine. He had received extensive dental work (10 of his 18 teeth had been filled and he had a partial upper denture). He was described as someone who looked after his appearance.
Anyone with information should visit https://mipp.police.uk/operation/staffs19f08-po1
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.