UK UK - Bolney, Sussex, WhtMale, 30-40, dismembered torso, Oct'91

[Al Ka]

Published 03/01/2020
Bolney Torso: Headless And Handless Torso Is Still Unidentified 28 Years On

(The coffin carrying the Bolney Torso is lowered into its unmarked grave in 1994)

In an unmarked grave in West Sussex lies the headless and handless torso of a man police have been unable to identify for 28 years.

The grisly case of the Bolney Torso, as it has become known, sparked a huge murder probe that has taken detectives as far afield as Germany in their hunt for the killer.

The mutilated body was discovered in undergrowth in the small village of Bolney, and theories of the killer ranged from London gangsters to East German fraudsters to construction workers.
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The case began on October 11, 1991, when a body was found in Broxmead Lane.
The victim’s head and hands had been removed, perhaps in an effort to obscure their identity.

Police identified him only as a white male with a small star-shaped mole on his right thigh and a protruding belly.
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“All we had was a body, and a deposition site in the middle of nowhere. No nearby houses. No passing traffic. It was a fluke miracle that he was found so soon.

“The public, i.e. witnesses, solve murders. We had no one to ask.”

Despite extensive investigations, the inquiry went unfinished and lay dormant for years until new evidence was uncovered.

The case was looked at afresh in 2008 and taken on by Andy Griffiths, who was in charge of Sussex Police’s major crime team.
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he removal of the victim’s head and hands seems to be an attempt by the killer to prevent identification, Griffiths said.

This was a practice rarely seen in Britain at the time.

Griffiths said: “When we reviewed the case in 2008, we took the decision to examine the body. “We got a full DNA profile from the body.”

To get the samples, the man’s remains were exhumed from his grave in Haywards Heath.
Fresh analysis using the latest technology revealed that the victim was 30 to 40 years old and was probably between 5ft 6in and 5ft 8in.

To add another unexplained detail to the mystery, police also discovered that the body had been dressed after death in the shirt and trousers in which he was found, and that those clothes belonged to someone else.

Using cutting-edge forensic tools not available in 1991, Griffiths’ team were also able to establish that the victim had a link to Bavaria.
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One theory that police worked on was that the murder was linked to East German criminals who had emerged from behind the Iron Curtain when the Berlin Wall came down, Griffiths said.

Sussex Police confirmed that a widely publicised theory has never been satisfactorily resolved: that the body was found just a mile or so away from a house being rented by a German fraudster.
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A Sussex Police spokesman said: “This is still an unresolved murder investigation and we are ready to follow up any new lines of inquiry.

“We are committed to identifying the victim, establishing what happened to him and bringing the offenders to justice if at all possible.

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[Al Ka]

The Bolney Torso

The Bolney Torso refers to the partial remains of an unknown male decedent that were discovered in woods near Bolney, Southern England in October 1991.

Discovery of the body
On Friday 11 October 1991 Colin Oliver, then 62, discovered the torso in woods off Broxmead Lane in Bolney, Sussex. Oliver was walking home to Burgess Hill from Cuckfield along Broxfield Lane. He stopped along the lane and went through a gate leading to a field. He went into the trees to urinate and found a bloody torso rolled up in a piece of carpet in undergrowth. Oliver then walked to the Burgess Hill police station to alert the police to his discovery. He claimed to have been so disturbed by the discovery that he had trouble sleeping for several months after.

Initial description of victim
The remains were found to be of a male who was believed to have been in his 60s at the time of death. The head and hands of the victim had been removed and the severed head and limbs were never found. One arm had been severed six inches below the elbow and the other two inches below the elbow; this appeared to have been done in order to remove an identifying tattoo. The arms and head appeared to have been removed with an axe or bolt cropper.

The victim was described as white, had a protruding belly, was circumcised and had a small star-shaped mole on his right thigh.

The victim was wearing turned up trousers from Fosters and a blue shirt with a distinctive motif on the pocket.

Investigation
The investigation to find the identity of the victim and the murderer was assigned the name Operation A23, employing 60 people and costing £150,000. DCI Peter Kennett led the initial inquiry. Detectives searched files of over 100 missing men without finding a match and appeals for the public to come forward with an identity were fruitless.

Suspects
In December 1991, police were contacted by a local estate agent with a potential lead; a large rented house in Copyhold Lane, Cuckfield, (1.5 miles from the deposition location of the body) had been abandoned which raised their suspicions. Police investigated the property and found a copy of Penthouse magazine containing an article about dismembering bodies with numbers scrawled on the pages.

Gunter Josef Knieper, from Dresden, Germany, and Kornelia Maria Teusel first rented the property in September 1991 paying £10,000 (6 months rent) in advance. The couple abandoned the property some time around 9 October 1991. Knieper, who had been using the pseudonym Dr Matthias Herrman, was being sought in Germany and Ireland on suspicion of business fraud.

In June 1992, Knieper was arrested in Spain. Police interviewed Knieper in Frankfurt and established that the gang intended to start a fraud operation but Knieper denied any involvement in the murder of the victim. In August 1992, police admitted there was no evidence to link Knieper to the murder. In January 1994, police returned to Germany to interview another unnamed male who had visited the property in Copyhold Lane.

Burial
On 2 August 1994, after a brief service, the remains of the victim were laid to rest at Western Road Cemetery, in Haywards Heath. The coffin bore the name "Unknown Male" Eight people attended the paupers funeral paid for by Mid Sussex District Council. The mourners in attendance were representatives of the police, coroner's office and Mid Sussex District Council.

Subsequent events
In December 1995, a few days before Christmas, some flowers and a note were left at the victim's grave. The note bore the message: "For the unknown male, Peter and team, remember our loss."

Re-investigation
In March 2009, police exhumed the body in the hope that advances in forensic techniques would provide additional information. On 12 November 2009, the case appeared on the BBC program Crimewatch.

In 2010 it was reported that, following media appeals on Crimewatch UK and its German equivalent, numerous suggestions for the victim's identity had been received however, none bore fruit. Police stated that three missing persons had been discounted as the identity of the victim and their families had been informed.

In 2011, it was revealed that evidence gathered in 2010 indicated that the victim had been dressed post mortem and that the clothes did not belong to the victim. The re-investigation examined a femur, rib bone and toenail from the victim. This revealed that the victim likely came from Southern Germany or a surrounding country. Analysis of the toenail suggested that the victim spent the last year of his life in the UK or the French/German border.

Revised description of the victim
The revised description of the victim was that his height was between 5 ft 6 and 5 ft 8 tall, aged between 30 and 45 and most likely in his late 30s at the time of death. The victim had a strongly built upper body. Analysis of the skeleton indicated that the victim was strong, well-nourished and healthy at the time of his death and had no signs of any degenerative illness.

The Bolney Torso - Wikipedia

 

[Al Ka]

Wiki link - Bolney Torso

To add - he is not listed on National Crime Agency website for UK unidentified.

 

[Al Ka]

Older article with extra information published - 11th August 2004
'Bolney torso' riddle still baffles police

Warehouseman Colin Oliver, 62, found the blood-spattered torso in undergrowth off Broxmead Lane, Bolney, near Haywards Heath.

The victim, believed to be in his 60s, had had his arms broken and his head removed with an axe or bolt cropper.

One hand was severed six inches below the elbow, the other two inches below, perhaps to cut away a tattoo. The missing head and partial limbs were never found.
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Gunter Josef Knieper, from Dresden, Germany, had begun renting the large house in September with his girlfriend Kornelia Maria Teusel, paying six months' rent of £10,000 in advance.

They suddenly left about October 9, though faxes were still coming in from South America, Spain and Portugal. Police found out that Knieper, who had been using the name Dr Matthias Herrman, was being sought in Germany and Ireland in connection with a suspected business fraud involving loan offers.

Officers who raided the Cuckfield house found a copy of Penthouse containing an article about dismembering bodies with numbers scrawled on the pages.

Knieper, Teusel and three other Germans - Alfred Egar, Jorg Heissler and Matthias Richter - had been working in Ireland before moving to Sussex.

They had rented a castle and mansion, thrown extravagant parties and bought a £100,000 Mercedes for cash.

It was not an entirely carefree lifestyle. While living in Cork, Knieper received death threats and a 9mm bullet accompanied by a picture of his BMW.

In June 1992 Knieper was arrested in Spain and Heissler in Argentina. Egar gave himself up to German police.
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Knieper, said to resemble Harold Bishop from TV soap Neighbours, suffered a heart attack which delayed his extradition to Germany.

Mr Kennett and Detective Sergeant Bruce Clowser travelled to Frankfurt to interview Knieper, who admitted the gang intended to start a fraud operation.

But he claimed he only bought the magazine to look up contacts for escort girls and an article about Land Rovers which interested him.

In August that year police admitted there was no evidence to link the Germans with the murder and the trail ran cold.
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Mr Clowser and Detective Inspector Derek Hoy returned to Germany in January 1994 to interview a fifth man who had visited the Cuckfield home. All the while, the body remained frozen in a mortuary while awaiting an inquest, due to open in February 1994, then put off until the following June.

West Sussex Coroner Mark Calvert-Lee then decided to allow a further month for any relatives to claim the body before releasing it for burial.

The torso was finally laid to rest in Haywards Heath cemetery on August 2, 1994, after a five-minute service conducted by Alex MacLean, the retired vicar of St Leonard's Church, Turners Hill. He chose as his text Psalm 139, which begins: "O Lord you have searched me out and know me."

The eight mourners represented the police, coroner's office and Mid Sussex District Council, which paid for the funeral.

The coffin's nameplate bears the simple inscription "Unknown male".

'Bolney torso' riddle still baffles police

 

[Al Ka]

Crime scene search

Reconstruction of the clothes

New clues in Bolney Torso mystery

 

[squish]

Bring circumcised makes me wonder if he was Jewish, and if it would be worth the police promoting the case to Jewish communities in Germany.

 

[Susikatze]

Bring circumcised makes me wonder if he was Jewish, and if it would be worth the police promoting the case to Jewish communities in Germany.

Not likely, i grew up within the Jewish community of Germany. It is tightly knit,nobody gets missing just like that.

True, men in Germany are not circumsized but some are for medical reasons (the details of the circumsizion would matter and tell more).

I dont believe he was German, though. But local from the UK, in Anglo countries,boys are often circumsized for hygienic reasons. UK less than USA, but more than continental Europe.
There are also sizeable Muslim communities (Pakistani, Arab, Turkish) in the UK that circumsize their boys.

I dont give one dime for isotope analysis anymore but ìf he really lived in south germany, he could be Arab or Turkish as well. Sizeable communities there.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

A GRAVESTONE without a name remains a reminder of a gruesome murder that has gone unsolved for 30 years.

Three decades have passed since a headless and handless torso was discovered in the village of Bolney – with police still unable to identify the victim.
The decision was taken to re-examine the body and so it was exhumed from its grave in Haywards Heath Cemetery in 2009.

Mr Griffiths previously said: “We got a full DNA profile from the body which was used to confirm identity in the future.”

Fresh analysis revealed that the victim was aged between 30 and 40 and was about 5ft 6 to 5ft 8.

Using forensic tools not available in 1991, Mr Griffiths’ team were able to establish the victim had a link to Bavaria in Germany.

Despite three trips to Germany to put out appeals, they were unsuccessful.

The mysterious case of a headless torso murder that remains unsolved after 30 years

 

[RobinCAL]

West Sussex unidentified headless torso murder remains unsolved 30 years on

 

[SaintGertrude]

Interesting that this is back on the news again after all this time. Here is the Wikipedia write up about the murder.
The Bolney Torso - Wikipedia

 

[SaintGertrude]

This is quite unusual very few cases like in the whole of the UK let alone Sussex/Kent apart from the Ashley Dighton investigation. I can see no connections between both cases apart from the Modus Operandi.

 

[Al Ka]

Interesting that this is back on the news again after all this time. Here is the Wikipedia write up about the murder.
The Bolney Torso - Wikipedia

It is 30 years anniversary when this remains were found and case is still unsolved. It is quite usual around anniversaries of missing person or unknown remains for new news articles or new police appeals to appear, just to remind everyone or to get new leads.