Croydon: Murder investigation as human remains found in park

A murder investigation has been launched after human remains were found in a park in south London.

Met Police officers were called to Rowdown Fields in Croydon shortly before 09:00 BST on Tuesday to reports of possible human remains - and have since uncovered more.

Det Insp Martin Thorpe said: "This is being treated as murder, and we currently believe the remains belong to one victim."

He said the search was "not complete".

"As you would expect, my team is working extremely hard in the early stages of this investigation to co-ordinate the search effort and carry out inquiries as quickly and as thoroughly as possible," Det Insp Thorpe said.

"We are not going to give specific details on our search of the area, but I can confirm that since yesterday we have recovered further remains. After consultation with a forensic anthropologist, we are certain that these are human.

"At this time, our search is not complete, and so local people will continue to see officers in the area.

"Samples have be sent away for urgent forensic analysis and I anticipate that a special post-mortem examination will take place later this week."

'Very disturbing discovery'

He said the force was not in a position to confirm the person's age, ethnicity or sex.

"A family has lost their loved one, and, as a team, we are focusing on finding them and securing the answers they will need to come to terms with their loss," Det Insp Thorpe added.

Supt Lewis Collins, who looks after policing in Croydon, said: "This is a very disturbing discovery and over the last day or so, the community in our borough has pulled together to give officers the space they need to carry out this important work.

"We continue to ask that speculation on this case is kept to a minimum. We will keep people informed as soon as we have updates to share."

The Met said a crime scene remained in place in Rowdown Fields. Officers are not searching any other sites but will extend the search if necessary, the force added.

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