Murder victim 'dead for two years'

Models of the victim's head were unveiled by detectives

Detectives investigating the discovery of a decomposing body on moorland believe the victim died more than two years before it was found.

A television appeal on Wednesday has led to suggestions for the name of the man whose body was dumped in Somerset and has still not been identified.

On Thursday Avon and Somerset Police said initial results from forensic tests indicate the man was murdered as far back as the beginning of 2000.

Witnesses reported in January seeing the black plastic bags the body was wrapped in although the victim was not found in March.

Some people have suggested names [of the victim] to us, and we are now following those up

Avon and Somerset Police spokesman

A spokesman told BBC News Online the tests appeared to confirm the body was stored for some time before it was dumped on the moor.

He said: "The initial results indicate he could have died up to two-and-a-half years ago.

"We have now got an aerial photograph of the exact spot where the body was found, taken in May 2001, and the black bags were not there then.

"This clearly means it was stored elsewhere beforehand."

Detectives received more than 50 calls following the appeal on the BBCs Crimewatch on Wednesday.

A pendant bearing islamic verses was found

"Some people have suggested names to us, and we are now following those up," said the spokesman.

"But it is too early to say whether we can identify him."

The inquiry, which has centred on the UK, could be extended overseas, because of the victim's Middle Eastern origins.

However, detectives have so far been unable to narrow down which countries they should make inquiries in.

It was earlier revealed the man was wearing a gold chain inscribed with a verse from the Koran and it is possible he came from the Muslim community.

'Tied up'

The body was wrapped in a green single bed sheet and a single duvet as well as the black plastic bags.

Also in the package was a white pillowcase used by Combined Linen Services in Torquay, which supplies hotels and restaurants throughout the South West.

A wire from a stereo was also found and it is possible the man, who was aged between 26 and 36, had been tied with it.

Earlier this week two models of the victim's head - reconstructed from a cast of his skull - were unveiled in the bid to identify him.