NCA CASE 06-024291 / NORTH WALES POLICE
On August 21st 1981 the badly decomposed body of a man was found in a shallow grave (c. 8 to 12 inches deep) near a lay-by off A525, opposite the Hucan Cement Works in Ruthin. Lorry driver, William Roberts (29), spotted a skeletal leg protruding from the ground and notified police.
Home Office pathologist, Dr. Donald Wayte, helped remove the body and performed the autopsy. The man had been suffering with coronary trouble.
The man had light brown, greying hair, and stood 5'8" (173cm) tall. He was estimated to have been between 60 and 100 years old, and to have been dead approximately 6 to 12 months. The only clothing recovered with the body was a pair of red underpants.
The Manchester Evening News reported on the ongoing investigation on Saturday 22nd August 1981:
Lay-by body death riddle
The mystery body in a shallow grave near a lay-by is that of a middle-aged or elderly man. He was about 5ft 5in tall with light brown, greying hair.
Home Office pathologist, Dr. Donald Wayte and a forensic scientist are today carrying out tests to try and find out how the man died. Murder squad detectives are probing the discovery made in trees 10ft from a lay-by a mile from Ruthin, near the village of Rhewl on a North Wales holiday route to the coast.
Lorry driver, Mr. William Roberts, aged 29, of Ffordd Top Rhos, Treuddyn, near Mold, raised the alarm after seeing the skeleton of a leg protruding from the earth. Under arc lights, Dr. Wayte and a biologist worked for several hours at the scene while the badly decomposed body was painstakingly removed. It had been buried between 12 and 8 inches from the surface.
Today the body was in a chapel of rest at Ruthin but some organs have been removed for scientific tests. Det Chief Supt Gwyn Owen, head of North Wales CID said: "Obviously we are treating this as a suspicious death. We will be checking lists of missing persons. It was fortunate the lorry driver spotted the leg. It could easily have been mistaken for the branch of a tree."
--
Similarly, the Daily Post of August 22nd reported:
Mystery of body near to lay-by
Forensic scientists were last night trying to solve a gruesome puzzle following the discovery of a man's body alongside one of the busiest roads in North Wales. The macabre find was made by a lorry driver who pulled into a layby near Ruthin and spotted part of the decomposed body sticking out of a shallow grave.
William Roberts (29), of Ffordd Tops Rhos, Treuddyn, near Mold, pulled into the layby alongside the main Ruthin to Denbigh road near Rhewl Quarry. He went into the nearby wood to relieve himself and spotted part of a leg with the foot missing in the undergrowth. Missing persons list throughout the country will be checked in a bid to identify the body but no local people have been reported missing in recent years.
--
Manchester Evening News, Thursday 25th August 1981:
Riddle of body in lay-by
The mystery of a body found in a shallow grave beside a busy lay-by in North Wales has deepened. Police say that the man had been dead between six to 12 months - but no evidence of violence was apparent. Forensic tests are continuing.
The body was found a mile from Ruthin, near the main road to Denbigh and the coast. Det Chief Supt Gwen Owen, head of North Wales CID: has appealed for help to identify the man, aged 60-plus, 5ft 8in tall, with brown hair containing streaks of grey. He had suffered from heart trouble and may have seen a doctor.
--
On September 2nd the Daily Post reported that police were no closer to naming the man:
Bid to identify body by teeth
Dental experts have been called in to try to identify an elderly man whose body was found near a lay-by at Ruthin two weeks ago. Police are no close to being able to put a name to the man who was found in a shallow grave alongside the busy A525 road.
He is known to have suffered coronary trouble but the exact cause of death has not yet been established. Detective Chief Superintendent Gwyn Owen, head of North Wales CID, said yesterday that the man's teeth had been sent to New Scotland Yard for the dental records of registered missing persons to be checked.
0 comments:
Post a Comment