UK UK - Wimbledon London, Male likely Asian, 33-55, smartly dressed, head injuries, buried early 1960s, Sept 2017

[Teignmouth 22]

Hi, had a search to see if this case is already here but couldn't find it - apologies if it is and I've missed it.

Police appeal:

Public Portal

"On Thursday 28th September 2017 human remains were found by builders in the rear garden of an address in COWDREY ROAD WIMBLEDON SW19 as they carried out renovations."

There is a craniofacial reconstruction (computer image) of the victim.

Further information in the article below, including a photo of a tie worn by the victim, and an interview with the owner of the property in question:

Homeowner shocked after body from 60s found in her garden 14 months after moving in

Scotland Yard have released a 3D image of the man murdered in the Sixties

www.standard.co.uk

"Detectives have tracked down and eliminated all living past occupants of the property. (DCI) Ms Kieran added: “Crucially, the DNA of the family that lived there in the 1960s does not match that of the person who is in their back garden. This is a 60-year-old mystery and information could help us solve it.”"

 

[Hochman]

Homeowner reveals shock after body of man murdered found by builders

Scotland Yard said the man, who was found in a shallow grave just 1ft deep, had been dismembered and had significant and traumatic head injury.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Homeowner shocked after body from 60s found in her garden 14 months after moving in

Scotland Yard have released a 3D image of the man murdered in the Sixties

www.standard.co.uk

Reconstructions

 

[AlanWake]

I imagine the police have a good idea who was responsible and they've died. If the killer had been the same age as the deceased, they'd likely be over 90.

My initial feeling is that it was a domestic killing in the home by whoever was resident at the time. You don't bury a body in somebody elses backyard.

I'd also suggest that the killer might be a woman or a man of small stature. The deceased was dismembered before burial and that's probably because he was difficult to move. He's said to have been “muscular.” This is likely also why the hole was shallow. Digging a grave is more work than it seems.

Indian immigration to the UK began after the war and there was another wave in the mid-1950s, but the peak was 1965-1972. Sadly, if he was fairly new to the country, he may not have had friends or family to miss him.

The highly intriguing fact is that the deceased may have undergone trepanning. That's quite a claim. No surgeon would have touched such a procedure by the 1960s so this would have to have been done by himself or somebody not medically trained.

In 1965, the first on-record modern trepanning took place when a medical student, Bart Huges, did it to himself. He wanted to promote the benefits to the medical establishment and believed it a cure for psychosis. He found no favour, but the new age movement ate it up and there was subsequently the development of a trepanation movement amongst a group of London bohemians. The new age movement also had a lot of interest in South Asian culture, as most famously seen with the Beatles.

If the deceased was trepanned rather than undergoing neurosurgery, it's very possible he may been known in these circles.

With that said, the amount of people who actually underwent the procedure must be tiny, but it's startling that it's mentioned.

 

[Teignmouth 22]

Bumping for this gentleman. I can't find any updates about this case, however the police appeal link in my original post is now showing as "Operation not found". I don't know if this means they know who he is.