Dumped body parts are from single victim

Detectives across three counties investigating the grisly murder said the head found by a farmer near Asfordby on Tuesday had been forensically linked to the other body parts.

Last Sunday an arm was discovered in a verge in Drovers Lane, Wheathampstead. A week earlier the left leg of a man was found in the same county next to a layby just outside Cottered.

Detectives from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit and Leicestershire Constabulary said the victim had still to be identified.

They said a full DNA profile that had been obtained did not match a national database. They also said a thorough examination of the body parts had so far not concluded any obvious cause of death.

But they said the victim is thought to be a white or Asian male between 5 ft 6 inches and 5ft 10 inches tall (168 cm - 178 cm).

The man appears to have had a skin condition that discoloured the pigmentation around the ankle.

"Lines of enquiry which have come to light since the initial discovery are being followed up but at this stage no speculation can be made about how this man was murdered," said Detective Chief Inspector Michael Hanlon from the Major Crime Unit, who appealed for witnesses.