Headless body lay hidden for several years – police
A“DECAPITATED body and head” found in a field near Birmingham are likely to have been there for several years, police believe.
A member of the public made the grim discovery in Egghill Lane, Frankley, Worcestershire, last Thursday and alerted West Mercia Police. Reports claimed a severed head was discovered in a bush by a group of builders while the decapitated corpse was later found by police officers.
Detectives closed the road to carry out forensic searches and were treating the death as “unexplained”.
Officers and a forensic archaeologist recovered the remains on Friday before a post-mortem examination can be carried out to help determine how the person died.
One resident from the area said: “We’ve never seen anything like this here, there were police everywhere. “They have searched a huge area of the countryside around it and everyone is in shock. We heard it was a severed head that was found and then cops found the body.
“You can only imagine what it was like finding that if that is the case. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”
Another resident John Caswell, 47, said: “All I know is they found a body in a bush next to a path, which is horrible.
“We have very little trouble here and you don’t expect it. We’ve had our fair share of murders in surrounding areas but never this close to home.”
Detective Inspector Lisa Duncan said the remains appear to have remained undiscovered for several years but added officers were keeping an open mind. She said: “I can confirm that the remains appear to have been in their location for several years. However, at this time we are keeping an open mind as to the cause of death as the investigation is in the very early stages.
“I would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding as there is still a local road closure (Egghill Lane) and an increased police and media presence in the area. We hope to reopen the road soon. If anyone has information they think could be helpful to our investigation, please call 101.”