Dismembered body found in shallow grave in London as police create exact likeness of victim's face

28 April 2023, 14:00 | Updated: 28 April 2023, 14:03

The dismembered body of a man who was killed in the 1960s has been discovered by workmen extending a kitchen - as police released an image of what he looked like.

The homeowner, an unnamed mother, spoke of her shock at being told the builders had found the remains in a shallow grave at her £1m Wimbledon home.

He was left in a pit just one foot deep, having been bludgeoned to death. Police released a mock up of a moustached man wearing a smart striped shirt and tie.

The homeowner, who lives on Cowdrey Road, was told about the discovery during the work in September 2017, just over a year after she moved in.

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"I said to them, 'You must be kidding?' I was in total shock," she said, initially believing it to be a model used by medical students.

"They had dug down a foot into clay. There was the skeleton and some clothes — a shirt, tie and trousers.

"We called the police and the forensics came, it was like we were in the middle of a crime drama. I didn't tell my children as I did not want to scare them."

A post-mortem found he had been the victim of a traumatic head wound then dismembered.

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Carbon dating shows he was buried in the early 1960s. His clothes were also of that era.

Anthropologists believe he was likely of Asian descent, aged between 35 and 55, about 5ft 7in and muscular. His teeth showed no evidence of dentistry.

Police have been able to issue a photo after experts measured his skull and used that to reconstruct what he looked like.

Detective chief inspector Kate Kieran, who is leading the investigation into the death, told The Evening Standard: "There was a bash to the skull which our pathologist put down as the cause of death.

"That turns it into a murder. For a host of reasons, they've buried him in the back garden rather than calling anyone.

"Someone must know who the victim is. We'd like to put a name to him."

She said the image of his head is "100% accurate".

There are no records of the man, including in any missing person reports.

All living past homeowners have been ruled out of suspects.