Sutton-in-Ashfield: Murder investigation launched after human remains found in Nottinghamshire

A murder investigation has been launched after human remains were found in a field in Nottinghamshire.

Officers were called to Coxmoor Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield after a construction worker unearthed some bones during work on farmland on April 26.

Extensive tests by a team of specialists have concluded the remains are a male skeleton with an estimated age of between 40 and 60 and show signs of trauma.

Nottinghamshire Police asserted that the body does not belong to Robin Barrows Spencer, who went missing from a nearby area in 2004, after “extensive DNA tests”.

A post-mortem has been carried out, but officers have so far been unable to officially identify the victim, who was between 5’4” and 5’6” tall.

Mr Spencer was 47 when he was reported missing by his mother in June 2004. His body has never been recovered and a murder investigation into his disappearance was launched in 2006.

Further testing will now take place, including radiocarbon dating testing, which can take “several” months, clothing analysis and checks of the Missing Person database.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said: “We have a team of detectives working extremely hard alongside a team of scientists to gather as much detail as possible to help us identify the person.

“At this stage, we believe the man was murdered due to the injuries sustained. This includes trauma to parts of [the] skeleton, which are undergoing further analysis.”

He added: “We also believe he was buried at this site so no one could find him. It is also possible that the burial site is also not the place where his murder occurred.

“However, we keep an open mind. We also know this is not a murder that has happened recently.

“We know this because it takes a number of years for the body to decompose to bone.”

There are currently three murder investigations where a body has not been found across Nottinghamshire, but police have ruled out the remains being linked to any of the cases.

In an update on Wednesday May 24, Nottinghamshire Police confirmed they have launched a murder investigation a month after the discovery.

Mr Griffin said the remains had been in a grave, which was between 4ft and 6ft deep, for at least five years, but added they could have been there for longer.

He said a man’s shoe and socks - one plain black and another with a pattern up the side - were found in the grave.

Assistant Chief Constable Griffin said it was not possible to say “with certainty” that the victim is a Nottinghamshire resident, but as the grave site is “slightly off the beaten track”, officers remain “open-minded”.

Superintendent for the County, Claire Rukas, dismissed speculation that more than one victim was recovered in the “rare and unusual” case.

Assistant Chief Constable Griffin and Superintendent Rukas urged anyone with information to come forward via a dedicated phone line that has been set up, an online portal or Crimestoppers.