Victim in headless torso murder probe in Sussex still unknown

A headless and handless torso lies buried in a grave in Haywards Heath, marked with a gravestone without a name.

The mutilated body was discovered in undergrowth in the small village of Bolney but the major murder probe that followed took detectives as far afield as Germany in their hunt for the killer.

Theories ranged from London gangsters to East German fraudsters to construction workers, but nobody has been brought to court for the killing.

And without a new breakthrough in information or technology, the crime may never be solved, according to two detectives who led the inquiry.

The case began on October 11 1991, when a body was found in Broxmead Lane, Bolney.

The victim’s head and hands had been removed, perhaps in an effort to obscure their identity. Police identified him only as a white male with a small star-shaped mole on his right thigh and a protruding belly.

An initial murder inquiry was led by then detective chief inspector Peter Kennett, who would later become known for catching Sarah Payne’s killer, Roy Whiting.

Now retired, Mr Kennett said: “I had just got home and had been intending to attend a retirement party of a senior colleague, David Scott, when the phone rang telling me of the grim discovery. I lived a short drive from Bolney and drove straight to the scene.

“By this time it was dark and tipping it down with rain. Because of the atrocious weather, there was not much that could be done other than secure the scene and wait for the morning.”

Mr Kennett had never had to solve a torso murder before, but it was clear to him identifying the body would likely lead police to the suspects.

He said: “Not knowing the identity of the victim is a serious drawback to a murder investigation. There is an old saying –know how your victim lived and you will find out why they died.

“All we had was a body, and a deposition site in the middle of nowhere. No nearby houses. No passing traffic. It was a fluke miracle that he was found so soon. The public, ie witnesses, solve murders. We had no one to ask.”

The case was looked at afresh in 2008 and taken on by Andy Griffiths, in charge of Sussex Police’s major crime team.

Also now retired, Mr Griffiths said: “This was an extremely difficult and complex case because it involved international work and inquiries into what was the old East Germany.

“I think if we had a name for the victim then we would have the last sighting of that victim and we would follow that chain.”

The removal of the victim’s head and hands seems to be an attempt by the killer to prevent identification, Mr Griffiths said.

This was a practice rarely seen in Britain at the time.

Mr Griffiths said: “We got a full DNA profile from the body which could be used to confirm identity in the future.”

To get the samples the body was exhumed from the grave in Haywards Heath. Fresh analysis using latest technology revealed the victim was between 30 and 40 and about 5ft 6in to 5ft 8in.

Police discovered the body had been dressed after death in the shirt and trousers in which he was found and those clothes belonged to someone else.

Using cutting-edge forensic tools not available in 1991, Mr Griffiths’ team was able to establish the victim had a link to Bavaria in Germany.

He and colleagues went to Germany and put out appeals for information but despite three trips to the country, the identity of the Bolney Torso remained a mystery.

One theory was the murder was linked to East German criminals who had emerged from behind the Iron Curtain when the Berlin Wall came down.

But without a positive identification for the victim, Mr Griffiths says the case may never be solved.

Mr Kennett said the Bolney Torso is “one of those cases that never goes away” and it still crosses his mind sometimes.

He added: “Do I think it will be solved? It’s still possible.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “This is still an unresolved murder investigation and we are ready to follow up any new lines of inquiry.