Police have revealed images of items of clothing that were found together with human remains in a field in Nottinghamshire.
A murder investigation has been launched following the discovery of human bones in a field in Sutton in Ashfield.
Police issued this update today and later also provided images of clothing that were also found with the remains.
On Wednesday, 26 April, construction work was being carried out on farmland in Coxmoor Road, Sutton in Ashfield when a member of the public came across some bones.
Police were called to the scene and a large cordon was put in place while work was carried out to exhume the rest of the remains.
Extensive work including a post-mortem examination has been conducted by a team of scientists including an anthropologist.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said:
“It is important to remember this is not just a collection of bones in a field.
This is someone’s loved one whose family will have undoubtedly been waiting many years for answers.
“His family are at the forefront of our minds and that is why we have been meticulous in our decision-making by ensuring we were at the scene in Coxmoor Road for three weeks to ensure we can gather as much evidence as possible.
“It is imperative that we can provide his family with all the answers they need and that the work we do now can ensure those responsible for his death are brought to justice.
“This will obviously be distressing for the local community to hear as at this moment in time we cannot provide identification.
“What I can say is that we have a team of detectives working extremely hard alongside a team of scientists to gather as much detail as possible to help us identify the person.
“At this stage, we believe the man was murdered due to the injuries sustained.
“This includes trauma to parts of the skeleton, which are undergoing further analysis.
“We also believe he was buried at this site so no one could find him.
“It is also possible that the burial site is also not the place where his murder occurred.
“However, we keep an open mind. We also know this is not a recent murder.
“We know this because it takes a number of years for the body to decompose to bone.
“The radiocarbon dating would help provide a scientific date range for the date of death and could provide a minimum timeframe that the body has been buried.
“We have a team of dedicated detectives now working on this case and would really like to hear from members of the public.
“Today we appeal for the public to come forward.
“Any information you may have about who this person might be or anything you may have heard then we would ask you to get in touch.
“This murder may have happened some time ago, but times have changed and so have loyalties.
“We have set up a dedicated phone line and online portal directly to the incident room for anyone with information to contact us on 101 – or you can call Crimestoppers which is completely anonymous.
“We have already eliminated a number of people who are known to be missing.
“We are determined to use all our investigative skills to identify this man and find those responsible for his murder.”
How the story developed:
• Breaking: Human remains believed to be murder victim, say police
• Human remains found in a Nottinghamshire field – investigation launched
• Update: Police say bones are not ancient after human remains found in Nottinghamshire
• Police statement and update from Nottinghamshire site where human remains found
• Post-mortem to be carried out on human remains found in Nottinghamshire field
• Police latest update on human remains found in a Nottinghamshire field
