Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Human remains found at farm 37 years after wife disappeared
HUMAN remains found at the bottom of a septic tank in a picturesque village are believed to be those of a farmer’s wife who went missing 37 years ago.
Brenda Venables disappeared in 1982, aged 48, from her home in Kempsey, Worcestershire.
Maintenance workers found human remains last Friday at Quaking House Farm on Bestmans Lane – where Mrs Venables and her husband David used to live.
The discovery was initially thought to be connected to the search for murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in nearby Pershore, but police ruled it out.
Now local residents say the remains are thought to be that of Mrs Venables. Her husband, now 86, sold the farmhouse for £467,000 in 2014
and now lives in a bungalow a mile away.
Speaking at the time of his wife’s disappearance, he told his local newspaper: “I just woke up to find that she had gone. She has never done anything like this before and I haven’t the faintest idea what has happened to her.”
He went on to say his wife had recently been suffering from depression and a bout of flu.
Mr Venables, who farmed 500 acres of land, added: “I have been unable to sleep a wink since she left and I can only hope and pray she is safe.”
When Mr Venables was approached for comment regarding the discovery of human remains at his former home, he told reporters: “I have nothing to say on the matter.”
One villager, who did not want to be named, said: “Nobody ever seemed to know what happened to her. She went missing one night – the family have never had closure.”
West Mercia Police say it could take weeks before the remains are formally identified.
Superintendent Damian Pettit said: “We are conducting a very thorough investigation and have multiple lines of enquiry to explore, one of which is into the disappearance of a woman from Kempsey that was launched in 1982.
“Until we have formal identification we are not in a position to link the remains to any particular person at this stage.”