The remains were in Moorland off Halse Lane near Winsford. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
Exmoor - a sprawling area of woodlands, hilly open moorland, cliffs, uplands and lowlands is a romantic setting at times - playing the inspiring backdrop for famous romantic poets such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. However, the region also serves as the setting for the dark heart of R.D Blackmore’s black romance Lorna Doone - where the murderous Doones ply their trade.
The area, which spreads across west Somerset and north Devon in South West England is home to a plethora of wildlife including wild ponies and Britain’s only poisonous snake - the adder. The infamous Beast of Exmoor, a cryptozoological cat reported to roam Exmoor, also looms. With elusive sightings since the 1970s, it’s existence has never actually been confirmed, but still, it’s brooding presence hints at the swirling potential danger the moor could hold. It’s in this beautiful but sometimes ominous place the mystery of the body on the moor began.
A Mysterious Find
Wednesday, March 13th, 2002 was a frosty, windy and rainy on the moor - a park ranger doing his rounds comes across a set of discarded plastic bags. Dutifully, the ranger removed them, thinking, as was fairly common, they were animal remains. The ranger took the bags to the Devon and Somerset Stag Hounds Kennels where they were to be destroyed, as there is an incinerator at the kennels for the purpose of safely destroying animal bones. However, instinctively, the bags were opened and the badly decomposed remains were discovered to be human.
After their horrific find, staff call the police. Upon further investigation police uncovered what little evidence the remains held. Along with plastic bags the body was wrapped in a single duvet and single sheet. The only clues to the body’s identity were underwear, Adidas shorts and a gold necklace with a verse of the Quran inscribed upon it.
The enduring mystery of the body on Exmoor needed to be unravelled and police began the painstaking process of piecing together the clues to identify the victim & how he ended up dumped on the moor. Police, likely never imagined their investigation would be a long and arduous one with little answers and many burning questions.
The Investigation
Police almost immediately appealed to the public for help in establishing any witnesses, particularly appealing to walkers or horse-riders who used that part of the national park in the months preceding the discovery, or noticed anyone who was acting suspiciously.
They also set to work establishing forensic clues. Detective Chief Inspector Barrie Douglas, who lead the investigation, told the press that an initial examination had identified body as being a man aged between 20 and 30 years old, 5ft 9in (1.75 m), with dark hair. They surmised that, although the man had been dumped fairly recently to the discovery, he was likely killed in late 1999-2000. Over the years extensive tests were carried out, a DNA profile established, and they have managed to gather some other clues through forensics - which I will go through in the evidence.
It has been difficult for the police to make specific inquiries about the man or his whereabouts prior to his death since his identity remains unknown. Witnesses remain elusive, it has been speculated that perhaps the man was an illegal immigrant and those who were around him when he died do not want to expose themselves - but there are no firm confirmations of this.
In a further effort to identify the body, police trawled national and international missing persons databases threw up 2,366 individuals, of which 2,357 were eventually discounted. The remaining were investigated to no avail.
Multiple appeals to the press have brought little forth, despite both clay and computer generated likenesses being released. It’s thought the investigation has cost in excess of £120,000 but despite the police’s best efforts the identity of the man and his killer have not been established.
What We Know
Who Was He?
Clay head reconstruction of the victim, released 2002. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
Although an exact identity is unknown we do have some clues as to whom he might have been.
He was in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties
Police believe he was around 5ft 9in (1.75 m)
Pigmented skin tone and Caucasian bone structure suggest heritage most likely to be North African or Asian sub-continent but could also be Middle Eastern or eastern Mediterranean
He may have only lived in UK for a few years prior to 1999/2000
He may have spent time in southern England in an area between Plymouth and Bude in the west and Poole and Bristol in the east
He was found with a gold pendant with an inscription from verse 255 of the Quran – called The Throne Verse/The Chair
Police believe the pendant was made in Pakistan and is commonly worn in the Gujarat area of India
Computer generated reconstruction of the victim. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
How Was He killed?
Again, little is known about the method by which the man was killed. However, police have said there is evidence to suggest he suffered a violent death. "There was evidence to suggest the man suffered injuries consistent with a violent assault before his death, sometime between late 1999 and 2000," a force spokesman said in 2017. Electron microscope examination of some of the man's ribs showed metallic evidence of what could have been a stabbing with a weapon similar to a knife, a sharp or bladed object. But it was not possible to be definite that the injuries were the result of the man’s death.
Where Was He killed?
The location of where he was killed is another mystery. There are a few clues as to where he may have been prior to his death however. Forensic material indicates he had been living in the South-West of England prior to his death, this would have been obtained from isotopes in the body. A pillowcase found with the body was the same type as those used in many local hotels in the area.
An inquest found the body may have been kept in cold storage elsewhere for up to two years before being buried on Exmoor at some point after May 2001.
Witnesses
There have been very few publicly released witness statements aside from details from the investigation. Certainly if there have been any witnesses to come forward there has been no public acknowledgment of them.
Forensic Material/Evidence
Aside from the forensic tests on the body, already mentioned there were little other forensic clues since there is no scene of crime. The body was wrapped in a green single bedsheet and a single duvet as well as the black plastic bags. Also in the package was a white pillowcase used by a linen hire service which supplies hotels and restaurants throughout the South West and a wire from a stereo possibly used to tie the man.
A full DNA profile has been developed of the victim.
The necklace found with the victim was 22-carat gold and was made in Pakistan, it had a verse of the Quran inscribed upon it. The verse is a widely used, known, and one of the most important verses in the Quran. It talks about Allah being the most almighty, nothing and nobody can compare to him. Interestingly, the verse is also regularly used to ward off evil spirits.
The gold necklace found with the victim. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
Timeline
Late 1999 - 2000: The mystery man suffers what police suspect is a violent death.
Between May 2001 and January 2002: Police say the perpetrator dumps the body on the moor sometime between these dates. However, they seem to have pinpointed May 2001.
Around End of February 2002: The bag was first noticed by several members of the public lying dumped near Winsford Hill on Exmoor National Park in Somerset.
Wednesday, 13 March, 2002: The remains are picked up by a park ranger, he takes them to Devon and Somerset Stag Hounds Kennels where they sit waiting to be destroyed
Thursday, 14 March, 2002: Kennel staff open the bags and discover the remains are human. Police are called and the investigation begins.
Friday, 15 March, 2002: Police release information to the press about the discovery of the body and appeal for help.
May, 2002: A clay & computer generated reconstruction of what the man’s head may have looked like is released by police.
Tuesday, 23 November, 2004: An inquest is held.
Tuesday, 19 September, 2006: Body is laid to rest in an Islamic graveside ceremony conducted by an Islamic religious leader at Watchet cemetery, in Somerset.
Thursday, 15 June, 2017: Police make a renewed appeal for information on BBC One’s Crimewatch Roadshow.
3-D Computer generated reconstruction of the victim. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
Where is the Investigation Now?
With no major new information having been released we don’t know if the police have gained tips as to the identity of the man or his killer. However, the case remains open and the team named Operation Glacier continues to investigate.
Theories
Identity theories & possible explanations as to why he was not reported missing:
With the knowledge that we know the man had lived in the local area for at least the last few years of his life, we know that it is not likely he was killed abroad.
The man was a refugee working illegally in the local area, perhaps in the hospitality industry and kept himself to himself. The workplace regularly hires unlawful workers and does not want to expose themselves to police by reporting him missing.
The man was involved in illegal activity in the area, perhaps part of an organised criminal gang.
The man was in the country legally but lived a solitary life and was not well known to anyone in the community. No one thinks to report him missing, they just assume he has left the area.
The man was part of a family who had something to do with his murder and therefore did not report him missing, potentially in an honour killing.
Theories about what happened:
He gets into a dispute with someone at work, an argument breaks out and escalates to murder. The murderer hides the body in one of the cold storage facilities at the workplace. Eventually the body has to be moved and is then dumped on the moor.
He gets killed/murdered in the execution of crime. He is stored in cold storage/basement of one the accomplices/his murderer.
He is killed in a random dispute with someone locally.
He is killed by a member of his family in a dispute over something personal, perhaps honour, perhaps completely unrelated. The body is stored until the murderer has the opportunity to dispose of it.
General theories & remaining questions:
The area we know the victim spent time does have direct coastal regions, on which there have been known refugee boats arriving - so, without making too many assumptions, this is certainly a possibility - and, if nothing else, would go some way to explaining why no one has reported him missing or come forward to say they know who he might be. Unlike the U.S the U.K is not a large country and news like this is national, so it would be very unlikely someone who was looking for a friend/partner/colleague would not have heard about the body.
We also know from isotopic tests on the body that the man had lived fairly locally to the area for at least the last few years and up to ten years prior to his death - again unlikely a local looking for someone would not have heard. Even if they weren’t looking, if someone you knew mysteriously disappeared - and then a body turned up that is possibly them, it’s unlikely you would just dismiss it, is it?
The fact that the murderer left the victim’s 22-carat gold necklace is an odd one, since little else was left with the body this may indicate some knowledge and understanding of the man’s religion. The verse on the necklace is often used to ward off evil spirits - perhaps leaving the necklace with the body was a sign of regret and an attempt at respect? It would have a decent resale value, so would surely have been taken if it were a robbery gone wrong. Or was this just a complete red-herring to throw off the investigation?
The body was also kept before being dumped. Firstly, what kind of person or persons would have the means to do that without it being found? Surely access to a large cold storage facility/container, would narrow that down. Could the man have been part of a criminal gang that assisted refugees into the country? Lorries & trucks that come into the country are often the transport by which refugees enter the country, they are also often refrigerated. And why? Why did they keep the body? Because they had no opportunity to dispose of it, or because they couldn’t come to terms with what they had done immediately?
Where were the sheets from? Were they associated with the location where the man was stored or the scene of the crime? Could it be that more than one person is involved in the crime?
Obviously, as with any crime, the police will have held information and evidence back that may help in the conviction of the killer or killers if they are eventually found. But the puzzle pieces remain very far apart, and it seems we only have one corner - with the four remaining corners still missing.
With the advances of technology it’s almost amazing that someone would remain unidentified, however we know science can be costly but perhaps there can be some genetic genealogy done in the pursuit of solving the case.
What do you think about this case? Do you think it’s solvable?
Can you help?
Does any of the evidence mean anything to you?
Do you know of someone who went missing inexplicably in late 1999 or 2000?
Do you have any information on how this man died, or how his remains came to be on Exmoor?
Did you see any suspicious activity on Exmoor around May 2001?
If you have any information or evidence that may lead to the identification of this victim & capture of his killer/killers please contact Avon & Somerset police on (+44) 101 and mention Operation Glacier + or Crimestoppers anonymously on (+44) 800 555 111
If you don’t feel comfortable you can also contact us on tips@unsolvednews.com, and we will pass information on to the police. You can also contact us with any case you would like to see us cover or general feedback.