Mystery over human head and torso discovered by horrified telecoms workers in quiet village as police reveal remains were in same spot for several years
- Builders discovered a human head in Frankley, near Birmingham, on Thursday
- A body was found nearby, as West Mercia Police treat the death is ‘unexplained’
- Police say the remains found in the field have been there ‘for several years’
- Det Insp Mark Walters said identifying the remains could be a ‘lengthy process’
A severed head and torso discovered by horrified telecoms workers in a quiet village by horrified telecoms workers were left in the same spot for ‘several years,’ police have said.
Workers at a field in Frankley, Worcestershire, called police after the grisly discovery on Thursday morning.
Police cordoned off the site, while a forensic archaeologist was called in to examine the site.
No cause of death has been established, while officers say identifying the remains could be a ‘lengthy process’.
Police cordoned off a field in Frankley, Worcestershire, yesterday after a severed human head was found – a body was found in a bush nearby. Officers now believe the body was there for ‘several years’
Officers closed Egg Hill Lane, where the remains were found, yesterday as they investigated the grim find.
A post mortem expected to take place on the remains.
Detective Inspector Lisa Duncan said ‘I can confirm that the remains appear to have been in their location for several years. However, at this time we are keeping an open mind as to the cause of death as the investigation is in the very early stages.
‘I would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding as there is still a local road closure (Egghill Lane) and an increased police and media presence in the area. We hope to reopen the road soon.
‘If anyone has information they think could be helpful to our investigation, please call 101 and quote incident number 00206i of 10 September 2020.
The identity of the remains has not yet been established, with local police saying it could be a ‘lengthy process’
Locals have been left stunned by the discovery. One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this here, there were police everywhere.
‘They have searched a huge area of the countryside around it and everyone is in shock. We heard it was a severed head that was found and then cops found the body.
‘You can only imagine what it was like finding that if that is the case, it doesn’t bear thinking about.’
The scene is close to where searches were previously carried out in the high-profile case of murdered estate agent Suzie Lamplugh, who disappeared aged 25 in 1986.
The county also recently saw a dig undertaken in relation to the murder of businessman Jesse Richards, 40, who was killed in Evesham in July 2009.
Another local resident John Caswell, 47, added: ‘All I know is that they found a body in a bush next to a path, which is horrible.
‘We have very little trouble here and you don’t expect it. We’ve had our fair share of murders in surrounding areas but never this close to home.’
Locals say workers set up their own barrier to shield passers-by from the grisly discovery, before police later raised a cordon
Speaking yesterday, Detective Inspector Mark Walters said: ‘We are in the very early stages of an investigation and our inquiries are just getting under way.
‘We are currently treating this as an unexplained death and no identification has yet been made.
‘While this could be a lengthy process, we will update the public in due course.’
The discovery was made in Frankley, a quiet village in Worcestershire, near Birmingham, on Thursday on morning
Local resident Frank Edgar told The Sun: ‘My wife and I were on our way back from Halesowen and the road was closed.’
‘I’m told some builders working further up Egghill Lane found a body up there.
‘They actually put up their own makeshift barriers to stop others going up there and rang the police.’