Woman's Skeleton Sparks Murder Inquiry

Tue, 09 February 2010 Courtesy of: The Guardian

A murder inquiry has been launched after a woman's skeleton was found wrapped in carpet on a building site in Manchester.

The bones were unearthed after a skull was spotted by workmen at a site near the CIS Tower in the city centre on 25 January.

The find was not treated as suspicious until a postmortem examination revealed that the white woman, aged between 16 and 30, had a fractured neck, jaw and collarbone.

“This woman's death is highly suspicious”

Greater Manchester police said it was unclear how long the skeleton has been there and officers were now looking through missing persons files.

A blue jumper and blue/green bra were recovered among the remains, while a green pinafore with large buttons was found nearby. The pinafore has a distinctive design and police are hoping someone will recognise the items.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff McMahon, of the major incident team, said "This woman's death is highly suspicious and we have a team of trained detectives trying to establish who she is and what has happened to her.

"We are reviewing all relevant missing person reports in an attempt to identify her but if you have any knowledge about the items of clothing we have recovered I would urge you to get in touch.

"Until we are able to establish further facts it would be inappropriate to speculate on how long this woman has been dead or how exactly she died."

The land where the skeleton was found is a redevelopment site located between Angel, Dantzic and Miller Streets.

The area is known as Angel Meadow, a notorious Manchester slum in the mid-19th century that was famously described by the social reformer Friedrich Engels as "hell upon earth".

The Co-operative Group's new £100m headquarters is being built in the area.