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Who is he?

1/11/2002

LANCASHIRE police say they are still "totally baffled" over the identity of an Asian man whose skeleton was discovered partially submerged in a pond.

Despite the widespread publication of a photo reconstruction of the dead man's face they have received no information as to his identity.

At a press conference they unveiled a clay sculpture of the man's head made by forensic reconstruction experts Dr Caroline Wilkinson of Manchester University in the hope that this will result in information that will help them identify the mystery man.

Detective Superintendent Mick Turner who is leading the enquiry said they still believed it was most likely that the man was of south Asian origin but it was a possibility that he could have been Turkish or from the Saudi Arabian peninsular. An examination of his skull revealed that the man had suffered from a severe blow to the head as a result of foul play.

The suspicion he had been murdered increased when experts confirmed that the body was naked when dumped in the pond in a field off Back Lane, Charnock Richard.

Mr Turner said: "There are a number of reasons why I believe this man was murdered. There was no clothing, no vehicle abandoned nearby, no personal affects on the body and it appeared to have been deliberately secreted. Given all this, there really is no other viable explanation."

Forensic archaeologist from the University of Central Lancashire and Glasgow and a forensic scientist who specialises in teeth from Sheffield were called into establish as much information as possible about the victim. Following detailed tests they said the victim had died no more than 12 months ago and was aged between 20 and 30. He was between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 8ins tall and of slender build.

They said he need not necessarily have lived in the Lancashire area. In a previous Asian murder inquiry detectives discovered that the killers had driven from Leicester to dump the body in the county.

A spokeswoman for Lancashire police said: "We were a bit disappoint with the response to the first appeal. We got nothing. But someone must know this man. It could be that he was murdered by relatives or was an illegal immigrant and people are reluctant to come forward with information."

Anyone with information about the man should contact the incident room on 01257 246271 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.