Detectives investigating the murder of a man whose dismembered body has been discovered piece by piece, scattered across the English countryside, said today that only his hands remain to be found.
A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Police said that the man’s right arm and upper left arm were attached to a torso recovered from a ditch in the east of the county on Saturday evening.
The torso was discovered in Gore Lane in Standon, following a call from a member of the public at 5.56pm. Police confirmed it was linked to the ongoing murder probe - a joint operation with Leicestershire Constabulary.
A police spokeswoman said: “We can now confirm that the only body parts which have not been located are the victim’s hands.
“The full right arm was attached to the man’s torso which was discovered on Saturday, as was the upper left arm.”
The murder inquiry was sparked when a left leg and foot attached was found in a green holdall in a lay-by on the A507 in Cottered, Hertfordshire, on March 22nd.
On March 29th, an arm, dismembered at the elbow and wrist, was discovered on a grass verge in Wheathampstead, about a 40-minute drive from Cottered.
Two days later, in Asfordby, Leicestershire - about 95 miles from Wheathampstead via the M1 and A606 - a head was discovered by a farmer.
Post-mortem examinations have confirmed that the left leg, arm, torso and head all belonged to the same man.
Police have said it is “highly likely” that a right leg found near the A10 Puckeridge bypass in Hertfordshire on April 7 came from the same man.
A full DNA profile has been obtained from post-mortem examinations but detectives are yet to trace the victim on the missing persons register.
The police spokeswoman said: “We are going through the missing persons register to try to trace this man but as you can imagine, that is a very lengthy process and will take some time.”
More than 100 officers are working on the probe - including detectives from Leicestershire Constabulary and the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit.
The assembly of body parts has given a picture of a man who suffered with his health before his death.
He had eczema, which caused his skin to “scale”.
Discoloration in his skin pigmentation around the ankle also gave a “bleaching” effect.
He is also thought to have had a form of fungal infection in his toenails which left his small toenails “discoloured and thickened” and curled under.
Two front teeth had been missing from his mouth “for several years”.
The man was white or Asian and between 5ft 6in and 5ft 10in. His shoe size is believed to be between seven and nine.
PA