Horrified builders discover severed human head and the rest of the body nearby under a bush in grisly mystery in quiet village
- 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’
- Det Insp Mark Walters said identifying the remains could be a ‘lengthy process’
Horrified builders discovered a severed human head and the rest of a body in a nearby bush in a quiet village yesterday.
Construction workers are said to have called police after the grisly discovery in Frankley, Worcestershire, on Thursday morning.
West Mercia Police said it was treating the death as unexplained.
It’s not yet known what state the remains were in, but police say identification 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 closed Egg Hill Lane – where the remains were found, as they investigate the grim find.
No cause of death has been established at this stage.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this here, there were police everywhere.
The identity of the remains has not yet been established, with local police saying it could be a ‘lengthy process’
‘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 builders set up their own barrier to shield passers-by from the grisly discovery, before police later raised a cordon
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.’