BLOOD FOUND ON LOST BEN’S TOY CAR
Breakthrough in hunt for Kos toddler after 26 years
HUMAN blood has been found on a toy car and sandals said to belong to missing Ben Needham.
They were at different sites, which could prove his body was moved.
Mum Kerry said: “What kind of human being does that?”
BEN Needham’s mum Kerry fears the discovery of human blood on a sandal and toy car believed to belong to her son proves he was killed and his body moved, in a sinister twist to the mystery.
The 43-year-old said she is now convinced the youngster was taken from the site where he was buried before British police returned to carry out a dig there last year.
Kerry claims the new evidence points to a cover-up over what happened to her son, who vanished at the age of 21 months while staying at his grandparents’ farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos, 26 years ago today.
The sandal was found in 2012 at the site where police believe Ben was accidentally killed by Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas who was operating a digger there. But the car was discovered at another spot late last year. There was no sign of the toddler’s body.
Kerry, who made a fresh appeal for anyone who knows anything to break their silence, said: “This confirms everything the police have suspected. It makes it all a little too real. We believe what they believe.
“It shows more of a conspiracy because they didn’t find Ben’s body. That proves it to me without doubt they obviously moved him and buried him and for whatever reason dug him up. There’s no other explanation. It’s all been a massive cover-up.
“This confirms what the police have been saying all along. My Ben was killed in an accident. But it also suggests that not only did they kill my boy and bury him where the toy car was found, they then moved him before police got to the site last October.
“What kind of human being does that? It just infuriates me. How can they do such a thing? He was definitely wearing those sandals that day. They were the only ones we could keep on his feet.
“And we’re 99.9% sure that car was Ben’s. He was playing with them that day. You can sort of forgive an accident in time but when somebody takes that further and starts picking up a dead child and moving his remains again.
“It’s monstrous behaviour. God know’s where he is. He could be in the bottom of the Aegean sea for all I know. It’s really sick.”
Ben’s sister Leighanna, 23, added: “They are putting a whole family’s suffering on hold.
“But we’re always hopeful someone will come forward and be brave by breaking the stigma which stops people coming to help us.”
Experts will now test the sandal and car to see if it contain’s Ben’s DNA. Kerry, of Sheffield, has provided a sample of her own to assist.
Forensic scientists working on her son’s case found the decomposed blood on the items.
Professor Lorna Dawson, of the James Hutton institute in Aberdeen, has been working with South Yorkshire Police in the hunt for the boy. She said: “These findings could corroborate the police theory there was an accident and the body moved. We were looking for any unusual samples that are specific to mammalians. A sheep, a dog will all leave behind different profiles. They have specific compounds.
“We are looking for a change in the chemical fingerprint which can be left for many, many years. Behind the farmhouse where Ben was last seen playing, we found a whole range of them in the soil. Twenty to 30 compounds. It’s that profile that is particularly identifiable as being human.” A specialist police dog used in the hunt for bodies reacted to the sandal sample.
Prof Dawson added: “He didn’t react to the toy car but did to the sandal. There were less
compounds on the car to detect and the sandal was very high. It was one of the highest samples.
“Samples are now with the biologists who are trying to extract DNA, to see if it could be Ben’s. But the items are very old and very dirty. DNA could well be degraded. It might not be possible.”
Superintendent Jon Cousins, who has been leading the investigation into Ben’s death, said: “Based on the facts and information obtained, it is still my professional belief that Ben died as a result of a tragic incident at the farmhouse involving heavy machinery.
“There has been a thorough review of all the information and evidence gathered, with pioneering, scientific techniques conducted on items recovered from Kos during the searches.
“The result of this work has recently revealed a development forensically, with early examinations indicating potential signs of human decomposition.”
Ben was said to be playing near the farmhouse when Dino was moving earth with his digger. He is known to have at least 70 other sites where he dumped rubble around the island.
Before the builder died in 2015, he allegedly confessed to a friend he may have killed the youngster in a horror accident. The pal told police: “It’s time the family knew the truth, so they can stop searching.”
Detectives believe Dino had an accomplice who may have helped hide the body. His family strongly deny he was involved in Ben’s death.
But Kerry appealed for anyone who knows what happened to her son to come forward.
She said: “Just tell me where he is, even anonymously. Please send a letter, or an email.
“I don’t care any more who goes to prison or not. Just tell me, that’s all I’ve ever wanted in 26 years. I want to put him at peace, my family at peace and my own mind at peace.
“I won’t stop searching for Ben. I will go to my grave still looking for answers if I have to.”