Mans Head Found

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A severed human head discovered in Leicestershire is that of a man, police have confirmed. A passer-by found the head near Hoby Road in Asfordby on Tuesday. A post-mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary was unable to determine a cause of death or how long the man's head had been in the field.

Meanwhile, detectives were trying to establish whether or not the head belonged to a man whose body parts were found in Hertfordshire.

A leg was found in a green hold-all in a lay-by near Cottered on Sunday 22 March and part of an arm was found on farmland in nearby Wheathampstead a week later.

Tests carried out on the leg established the man was between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 10ins tall. He is believed to have been white or Asian, but his DNA profile did not match any held on the National DNA Database.

Leicestershire Police have said it is too early to link their inquiry with any others. Det Supt Julia McKechnie, who is leading the investigation in Leicestershire, said: "Work is on-going in order to obtain a full DNA profile and we recognise that this may take some time.

"As we are still waiting for results we are not able to make any links to any crime or investigation being undertaken by colleagues in other forces at this time.

"I know the incident has been shocking and upsetting for the local community and I want to thank them for their co-operation and understanding."

Specialist search teams were continuing to carry out intensive searches around the area where the head was found.

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Tests carried out on the leg established the man was between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 10ins tall.


is that with or without his head ?

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you think there would have been a thread before this : Mans Head Missing

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A human head found in a Leicestershire field comes from the same body as an arm and a leg found dumped in Hertfordshire, police have revealed. The male's head was found on Tuesday at Asfordby, while the arm was found in Cottered on 22 March and the leg in nearby Wheathampstead a week later.

Officers said the head had been "forensically linked" with the other body parts.

The cause of death and the man's name have not been determined. Police said the man is a white or Asian adult between 5ft 6in and 5ft 10in tall. His shoe size is believed to be between a 7 and a 9. He also has a skin condition which has caused discolouration in the pigmentation of the skin around the ankle giving a 'bleaching' effect, police said. Examinations have concluded that the victim suffered from eczema which had caused the skin to "scale".

At a news conference in Leicestershire, officers from both counties said that in the light of this news the investigation would a joint operation by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (MCU) and officers from Leicestershire Constabulary.

Det Ch Insp Michael Hanlon, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire MCU, said: "Officers from the investigating team will continue to meticulously check through missing person reports looking for a match of the description of the man. This will include checking dental records. A full DNA profile has been obtained and is not matched on the National DNA Database."

He added: "Lines of enquiry which have come to light since the initial discovery are being followed up but at this stage no speculation can be made about how this man was murdered."

The head was discovered by a farmer beside a makeshift cattle pen near woodland and a cemetery. The left leg, with the foot attached, was discovered in a green holdall behind a hedgerow next to a lay-by on the A507 just outside Cottered on 22 March. The arm, which had been dismembered at the elbow and wrist, was found by a member of the public on a verge in Drovers Lane, Wheathampstead.

Police believe the leg was dumped within two days of its discovery and are now trying to establish if the other body parts were left at around the same time.

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A new body part has been found by police investigating the discovery of human remains in two counties.

Police were called to Gore Lane in Ware, Hertfordshire on Saturday, and have sealed-off the road. A spokesman said part of a torso had been found, close to the A10 road, which had been there "for some time". It was likely to be from the same man whose left leg, head and arms have been found in Leicestershire and Hertfordshire, he confirmed.

The major crime unit for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire is on the scene, and the Leicestershire force has been notified.

The latest find comes after a member of the public found a right leg - also thought, police said, "highly likely" to be from the same man - near a lay-by, also on the A10 Puckeridge bypass, last Tuesday.

1: 22 March: left leg found at Cottered
2: 29 March: forearm found at Wheathampstead
3: 31 March: head found at Asfordby
4: 7 April: right leg found at Puckeridge
5: 11 April: torso found at Gore Lane, Ware

The man's head was earlier found in a Leicestershire field and a forearm and left leg from the same body were found in Hertfordshire. The left leg was found in a field near the A507 at Cottered on 22 March and the forearm was discovered in nearby Wheathampstead a week later. The head was found on 31 March near a cemetery in Hoby Road Asfordby. Tests "forensically linked" the head with the forearm and legs.

Det Ch Insp Hanlon, of Hertfordshire Police, has previously given details about the victim's appearance.

He said the man is believed to have suffered from a form of fungal infection to his toenails, with his small toenails "discoloured and thickened" and curled under. "The victim had two front teeth missing," he said. "They are the front right tooth and the tooth to the immediate right of that. "They are believed to have been missing for several years."

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Detectives have revealed a man and a woman are being questioned over a dismembered body found dumped in Leicestershire and Hertfordshire.

The man, 37, and woman, 20, from north London, appeared at Hatfield Remand Court earlier. Magistrates granted police an extra 36 hours to quiz the pair, who were arrested at an address in Southgate. They can be held until late on Friday. Police believe they have now identified the 49-year-old victim of the killing.

Det Supt Andy Shrives, from the the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit , said: "The progress we have made has come about directly through the support of the media and I am extremely grateful to the press.

"In terms of identification, we are making positive steps forward and will be able to confirm the details of the victim once all the next of kin have been informed. We can say at this stage however he is aged 49 and lived in north London."

His head was found in a field in Leicestershire, while his torso, left forearm and legs were found in separate locations in Hertfordshire.