The journalists behind a BBC Sounds true crime podcast are appealing to museums across the UK to help them locate the remains of a murder victim.
‘The Body in the Tree’ delves into the chilling case of an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found in a hollow wych elm tree in Hagley Wood, Worcestershire, England, on April 14, 1943. The murder is believed to have taken place around 1941.
There are many theories about the murder, including that it was a ritualistic kill depending on how the bones have been laid out. It has also been speculated that the victim, nicknamed “Bella”, may have been a Nazi spy. Forensics determined she was likely between 35 and 40 and was a professor of craniofacial identification at the University of Dundee rebuild his face based on photographs of his skull in 2018.
West Mercia police closed the case in 2014 after losing hope of catching the killer, and it went into public records.
For a time, the woman’s skeletal remains, along with her clothing and some other clothing, were held by local pathologist, James Webster. He had kept evidence of this and several similar crimes to help train recruits at the Tally Ho police training center in Birmingham.
The objects, however, disappeared around the 1960s or 1970s and their whereabouts are now unknown. Podcast host Nicolas Goodwin is now calling on museums nationwide to report if they have the skeleton in storage.
The hope is that with today’s sophisticated DNA testing methods, scientists will finally be able to make progress in identifying the woman.
“We hope to be able to find the woman’s remains and, using science from 2023, test them to see if we can find her country and place of origin and possibly find some of her relatives,” Goodwin said. “We wish we could give her a name and give her the dignity to be buried.”
Anyone with information can contact Goodwin on 07711 348849 or by E-mail.
More trending stories:
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay one step ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news, revealing interviews and incisive reviews that move the conversation forward.
