Police trying to solve a decade-old murder in a disused factory have released this facial reconstruction of the deceased male based on the skeletal remains.
Shortly before 4.00pm on Friday, April 29, 2016 police were called to reports of remains found in a blue sleeping bag at the building in Upton Lane, Forest Gate.
Police attended and the premises was secured as a crime scene.
Later tests confirmed the body had been there for ten to thirteen years after suffering blunt force trauma to the skull.
Upon closer inspection it appeared that a black bin liner had been placed over the head and body, while the skull had a visible crack along the left side, towards the back.
Working with archaeologists to excavate the scene, officers removed more than 100 industrial rubble sacks containing objects, soil and debris.
These were sieved by specialist search officers and examined by a forensic anthropologist.
During the excavation, almost all of the skeletal remains were recovered.
A post mortem and anthropological examination took place and this concluded that there were a number of blunt force trauma wounds to the skull.
A DNA sample was obtained from the remains, but no match was made on the National DNA database and the victim remains unidentified.
Professors at the Natural History Museum also examined some of the remains to establish the origin, however suitable DNA could not be extracted.
Officers from Specialist Crime North investigate, with Detective Inspector Darren Jones leading enquiries.
He said: “I would urge people reading this appeal, especially those living in the area where this man’s remains were found, to look closely at the reconstruction and think about whether you may have seen him. Does he look familiar to you?”
The examination of the skeletal remains concluded that the deceased was a male of between 5ft 4ins to 5ft 8ins in height, and it is believed he could have been of eastern, southern or central Asian, Indian subcontinent, European, North African or Middle Eastern descent.
Inside the blue sleeping bag there was a packet of chewing tobacco which is only officially sold in the Indian subcontinent.
An item of clothing found on the remains also links to the same area.
Examinations continued over the following months at the scene.
During this time, a room on the first floor of the four-story building was identified as being the suspected site of the attack.
Blood matching the DNA of the victim was found in the corner of the room.
In efforts to identify the victim, a number of specialist techniques which are not often used in homicide enquiries were utilised.
Professor Gordon Cook, a Professor of Environmental Geochemistry of the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre performed Radio Carbon analysis of bones, teeth and hair.
He identified that the results from the lateral incisor and the second molar indicate that the victim was born between 1971 and 1974 and died between 2003 and 2006.
This put the age at death as somewhere between 29 and 35 years.
This tallied with the anthropologist’s report which stated that the likely age was between 30 and 45 years old.
Facial reconstruction of the skull was created by Dundee University.
There have been no arrests made.
Police are appealing for anyone who thinks they may recognise this man or may have any information on his death to please come forward and contact police on 0208 355 0400.
If you do not wish to speak to police, please contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111.
No comments:
Post a Comment