UK UK - Staffordshire, White Male, 23-39, torticollis (wry neck), buried on his knees, Mar'71

[Bit of hope]

What if this John Doe was the first "test" victim of Anthony Hardy? He sure knew the surroundings being raised there as a child.

ANTHONY HARDY: THE SATANIC RITES OF THE CAMDEN RIPPER - Court News UK

A serial killer born in Winshill, near Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire (1951).

He met his wife Judith when he was studying engineering in London at the Imperial College and they married in 1972, later immigrating to Australia.

In the early 2000's he killed 3 women and dismembered them. An interesting thing from the above article: "Hardy dressed his victims in a devil’s mask and Mr Men ‘Mr Happy’ socks before taking the pictures".

I came up with this ages ago (2018) ....and now it's a thing? Interesting.

 

[Susikatze]

Yes also because it is really unlikely for a variety of reasons if you look at how serial killers behave and evolve. But the press somehow always pulls old theories out of the garbage... like the Milkman Jones theory... this has been found to have no connection ages ago and was ruled out via DNA... or the theory Fred was a (xx) woman. Also ruled out. But both have recently circulated through the press and social media again and again...

 

[dotr]

I came up with this ages ago (2018) ....and now it's a thing? Interesting.

Have seen that happen in other cases, maybe with the new push to identify "Fred," ideas that were previously discarded or overlooked, have come to light! imo.

Gfycat

 

[Susikatze]

I hope that with new interest in the case, someone will step forward and wonder if he was his long lost uncle/ father/grandfather/ parents work colleague/ first husband of great aunt etc etc etg....
He is distinctive. I even wonder if he was special needs of some sort and may have been kept quiet by family.. but would he wear a wedding ring then if he was hidden?

 

[bombardier]

Any chance that he was wearing the wedding band just for the aesthetic and not as an indicator of marital status (and that's why it was on the wrong hand)? Also, considering he was stripped except for socks + ring, I am also considering that the ring wasn't his and was added as part of the fantasy. A victim's ring would be a nice keepsake for the perp (and could lead to an identification), and burying someone in just socks, a wedding ring, in "bondage" type bindings could suggest this was staging to make it seem romantic, or sexual.
*I guess it's also possible that the perp didn't see the ring but considering this guy was either undressed after or was killed while naked (and likely killed in private) makes me think that this guy had no reason to rush and wouldn't have missed it, especially since he had to focus on the hands to tie them behind Fred's back.

 

[RobinCAL]

River Trent murder: Police appeal 50 years after body discovery

 

[PropaneYeeter]

Some articles I found about this case from the early days.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

And a couple more that were too big to fit in one screenshot. Sorry about the blurriness; snipping tool always seems to butcher the quality. If anyone finds it too hard to read, I can post transcripts.

 

[sonz82]

An amateur sleuth who has a Fred the head podcast has possibly figured out Fred's true identity. Tbh it's the closest possibility I've seen so far.

Police to probe whether 'Fred The Head' murder mystery victim is this man

Amateur sleuths believe they could have solved 50-year-old riddle

www.google.com

 

[dotr]

An amateur sleuth who has a Fred the head podcast has possibly figured out Fred's true identity. Tbh it's the closest possibility I've seen so far.

Police to probe whether 'Fred The Head' murder mystery victim is this man

Amateur sleuths believe they could have solved 50-year-old riddle

www.google.com

View attachment 416656

Very interesting, from link, ty..

''Newspaper reports at the time reveal Mr Gick, a Scoutmaster, had travelled to Liverpool from the Isle of Man for a scouting event on February 1, 1969.


Before the show, he left his scouts in a care of a colleague saying he had an appointment. He visited friends in Prenton, Wirral, leaving them at 4pm, and saying he would return at 6.40pm for the show.

According to the Liverpool Echo at the time in an article it headlined 'The man who stepped into nowhere', he was attacked by a gang of youths while leaving a gents toilets at around 5pm that day.

But he was never seen again and his van was later found abandoned on Liverpool Landing Stage. Despite extensive police enquiries, Mr Gick was never found.''

 

[Bit of hope]

An amateur sleuth who has a Fred the head podcast has possibly figured out Fred's true identity. Tbh it's the closest possibility I've seen so far.

Police to probe whether 'Fred The Head' murder mystery victim is this man

Amateur sleuths believe they could have solved 50-year-old riddle

www.google.com

View attachment 416656

Totally possible. It would be wonderful if this could be resolved. He could have had the gap between his front teeth repaired with an upper dental. What is left out of the article is the fact that "Fred' wore a gold wedding ring. Was Mr. Gick married or engaged at the time? Just wondering.....and waiting.....

 

[dotr]

Totally possible. It would be wonderful if this could be resolved. He could have had the gap between his front teeth repaired with an upper dental. What is left out of the article is the fact that "Fred' wore a gold wedding ring. Was Mr. Gick married or engaged at the time? Just wondering.....and waiting.....

Mr Gick was single, imo. rbbm.

Police to probe whether 'Fred The Head' murder mystery victim is this man

Amateur sleuths believe they could have solved 50-year-old riddle

www.staffordshire-live.co.uk

''It focuses on a man called John Gick, who was aged 37 and single at the time he went missing in February 1969. His disappearance was over two years before the March 26, 1971 discovery of the body, which was thought to have been in the ground for at least 18 months.''

 

[Bit of hope]

Mr Gick was single, imo. rbbm.

Police to probe whether 'Fred The Head' murder mystery victim is this man

Amateur sleuths believe they could have solved 50-year-old riddle

www.staffordshire-live.co.uk

''It focuses on a man called John Gick, who was aged 37 and single at the time he went missing in February 1969. His disappearance was over two years before the March 26, 1971 discovery of the body, which was thought to have been in the ground for at least 18 months.''

Sorry I totally missed that....hmmm. Could it be his former wife/fiancee died and he kept wearing the ring? Could the podcaster somehow associate the ring with Mr. Gick. That would convince me totally.

 

[Susikatze]

I dont think it is him but since there is no other lead anywhere, it is worth checking it out.

 

[sonz82]

John apparently had or could of had toticulous ( sorry for the spelling) after he was badly beaten the day he was last seen.
Also, he strongly resembles the side on sketches.

 

[sonz82]

John/ Fred sketch.

 

[Susikatze]

John apparently had or could of had toticulous ( sorry for the spelling) after he was badly beaten the day he was last seen.
Also, he strongly resembles the side on sketches.

He does resemble him but Fred had very distinctive remaining teeth and extreme dental work, even on frontal teeth.
No gap and the dental work he has would not close a gap.
Also the whole line of events and locations does not match where Fred was found, but stranger things have happened.
I read somewhere John was gay, in the 1960s, many gay men had cover up weddings or at least wore wedding rings as protection against bullying and persecution. So that does not rule John out.
But overall I do not think it is him.

 

[Susikatze]

Id be cautious with the torticollis diagnosis, i think it was only based on some markers the computer reconstruction pointed to, the original examiner Dr. Mant did not find anything. He was one of the most accomplished and most experienced forensic anthropologists of his day and age.

 

[AugustusWentworth]

I was listening to the podcast "The Mysterious Case of Fred the Head" and at some point Ken Davies (the podcaster) mentions this Brian Edge who disappeared from Watford and his case seems also VERY interesting (per se, I mean) but I haven't found ANYTHING on him online (except for Posner's book on Google Books). Does any of you have any information on that case?

 

[Fake Protagonist]

I was listening to the podcast "The Mysterious Case of Fred the Head" and at some point Ken Davies (the podcaster) mentions this Brian Edge who disappeared from Watford and his case seems also VERY interesting (per se, I mean) but I haven't found ANYTHING on him online (except for Posner's book on Google Books). Does any of you have any information on that case?

I believe you're thinking of the case of Michael Edge, rather than Brian Edge. There's some info online if you Google, but mostly in articles written about the Fred case.