Note: This article is from the Guardian.
This article titled “Sandringham remains: police question royal estate staff” was written by Patrick Barkham, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 6th January 2012 19.05 UTCThe mystery over the body of a young woman found at Sandringham deepened as police revealed they were examining events that took place at the Queen’s residence in late summer.
Detectives are interviewing gamekeepers and the manager of the royal estate as well as organisers of events, including the Sandringham game fair and the Tour of Britain cycle race, which were held at the Norfolk property in September, in an effort to find more clues about the fate of the 15- to 23-year-old woman, who detectives believe was murdered.
The identity of the woman, who was wearing jewellery, had high cheekbones and was between 5ft 4ins and 5ft 6ins, is expected to be finally confirmed by DNA analysis of bones on Monday after tests on tissue and bone marrow failed to establish who she was.
The identification of the murder victim has narrowed to a small number of missing women in the region, including 17-year-old Alisa Dmitrijeva, a Latvian-born teenager who was last seen in nearby Kings Lynn on 31 August.
Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry of Norfolk constabulary said on Friday reports that Dmitrijeva’s grandmother was told by police the body was not that of her granddaughter were incorrect. When asked about the missing woman, he said: “She obviously fits the profile.”
Fry visited Cambridgeshire police to discuss the case of Dmitrijeva, who lived with her grandmother, father and younger sister in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and disappeared on the day she was due to enrol on a course at college in Kings Lynn. She was last seen in the Norfolk town sitting in the Lexus car of an associate shortly after midnight.
One missing woman who has been ruled out is Vitalija Baliutaviciene, 29, from Peterborough, who vanished last August. Four separate tests by a forensic anthropologist on different parts of the body, including bones in the wrist that fuse in a certain order in young adults, pinpointed the age range as between 15 and 23.
The body was discovered by a dog walker at dusk on New Year’s Day in a copse close to King’s Avenue, a tree-lined country lane a mile and a half from the main gate to Sandringham House.
Fry admitted he was “surprised” the body, which had been on the royal estate for between one and four months, had not been discovered sooner. Although no members of the royal family were in residence at their country retreat before 1 1 December, there was a pheasant shoot around the copse three days after Christmas. A number of partridge shoots have also been held on fields close to the body in recent weeks.
“It is slightly surprising it has taken so long [to find the body] but due to the nature of the estate it’s probably less walked than other areas, because people aren’t sure where they can go,” said Fry.
Investigating officers have liaised with security at Sandringham to recover CCTV from the royal estate, which might provide clues about suspect vehicles. They are also appealing for information from the public.
Botanists have helped pinpoint the time the body had laid there. As the remains were not covered in ivy growth, and the creeping plant stops growing in August, detectives believe the body has been there only since the end of August.
An entomologist from the Natural History Museum has been examining the crime scene to provide further information on the length of time it had been there based on the insect life around the body.
Once a DNA profile has been obtained, it will be checked against the national DNA database. If no match is found, forensic experts will take samples from tooth and hairbrushes and other personal items belonging to a number of missing people. In the absence of such evidence, detectives will take samples from family members.
Fry said results of toxicology tests would not be available for six to 10 weeks, adding: “There is some body tissue left and we well be carrying out toxicology to clarify if certain drugs have been taken.”
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