The lead detective of a murder case has disputed claims from his own police and crime commissioner that multiple human remains have been found in woodland at the centre of a murder investigation.
Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the body of one man had been recovered from the woods at Sticker, near St Austell in Cornwall, and no other remains had been found
Police and forensic experts have undertaken extensive investigations in the woodland since the discovery of the body of Daniel Coleman, 43, was made.
James Desborough, 39, is accused of murdering Mr Coleman, from St Austell, on a date between June 2 and July 7. He is due to appear before Truro Crown Court next month.
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez told a meeting of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel that “dead bodies” had been found in the woods and investigations were ongoing to establish exactly how many.
Answering questions from councillors about the ongoing assistance from other police forces, Ms Hernandez told the meeting: “Some of the elements of that operation I can’t speak about.
“As you know there is a large crime scene that’s been identified in Cornwall that is requiring a lot of effort to even just scene guard the area.
“Some of the mutual aid we’ve brought in is expertise in specific types of investigations that we didn’t have.
“The National Crime Agency is supporting the organisation at the moment, and I want to thank all the other forces that are coming in at a very busy time for themselves to offer mutual aid.
“It’s largely investigative mutual aid that we’ve brought in, and until some of those elements have established exactly what we’re dealing with then it will be made public at that time.
“I know there’s been some information in the media. We’ve got a huge forensic tent down there, lots of forensics officers.
“Obviously we found dead bodies in that wood. We’re just trying to establish how many there may be at this point in time and whether we are aware of who they are or what might have happened to them.
“So we don’t also know how long they may have been there, some of them.”
In response to Ms Hernandez’s comments, Detective Superintendent Jon Bancroft said: “We currently have three separate murder investigations being conducted in the Cornwall area.
“I have oversight of all of these investigations at this time, and can confirm they are being carried out independently of each other and are not believed to be linked.
“I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker. No other remains have been located at this scene to date.”
Mr Bancroft added: “James Desborough has been charged with the murder of Daniel Coleman and will next appear before Truro Crown Court on August 8.
“It is imperative that we continue to respect the integrity of the formal court process and ensure the administration of justice is not compromised in any way.
“We hope members of public understand that, for this reason, we cannot comment further on the defendant or the investigation.
“I would also urge people not to speculate on this case, particularly on social media, and risk prejudicing these proceedings.
“Publication of material which does so could lead to a criminal offence under the Contempt of Court Act.”
Police are also investigating the discovery of the body of Lee Hockey, 50, who was found in woodland between Truro and Probus on July 1.
A third murder inquiry is under way following a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22.
The body of a man in his 30s was found in the property and a 33-year-old man from Bolton was arrested on suspicion of murder.
