The murdered man nobody knows

by Valerie Sprague
BBC News Online, Norwich

Police uncovered several items by the man's body, including food

It was just a simple message attached to a small bunch of flowers.

But for detectives investigating the baffling murder of a mystery man dumped in a country lane, it appeared to be a breakthrough.

Yet, within days police were again left grasping at straws as another potential clue proved to be a dead end.

Officers had spotted the flowers and a note to "Les" from "friends in Bourne" at Eastfield Cemetery, Cambridgeshire.

They thought that tracing the mourner may lead them to the identity of a man found in a field at Upton near Peterborough on 21 December.

He had died from stab wounds and had also been shot in the head and neck before being set alight.

Interpol records

Police have had the body analysed by experts, offered a £10,000 reward, and had checked lists of the missing in several countries - without any success in establishing the victim's identity.

But when they appealed for more information about the flowers and note for "Les", they discovered they had been placed there by a woman who had heard about the case in the media.

She had decided to leave the message to Les simply because it had been her father's name.

No DNA matches have yet been found in the UK or through Interpol queries, which means the mystery man probably had no prior brushes with the law.

The man's two front teeth were worn or chipped

Dr Stuart Black, a geochemist, believes the man grew up in the Ukraine and spent his last three to six years in the east of England after analysing his teeth and isotope levels in his femur.

Dr Black said he might have been in Germany or Holland for up to four weeks before his death.

He was white, with possible Asian or Middle Eastern features.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Bert Deane told BBC News Online no clues found at the scene have been able to shed any light on the case.

The body was found near two areas known for attracting gay men and an unsuccessful appeal was made through a gay community magazine in the hope someone would recognise him.

Medical memo

He was wrapped in a green blanket and a cream-coloured bedspread, and was wearing a blue T-shirt, a dark jumper, trousers, socks but no shoes, and a jacket with brass buttons.

A bag from a Lidl store was near the body, containing salami, feta cheese, tomatoes and a carton of ice cream.

Mr Deane said: "These are all items that in themselves won't be a specific clue, but a combination of them all build up a picture."

The medical memo is dated three days before the man was found

He is hopeful about a medical memo found by the body which refers to an appointment 18 December.

It is addressed to a person named "Talbot" from an "Armstrong."

Mr Deane said: "We're trying to identify all nurses by the name of Armstrong to see if they recognise anything, and we've sent out 1,500 letters to Armstrongs and Talbots in the east of England."

Despite a lack of a response to public appeals, police are not giving up.

Mr Deane added: "We will continue with missing persons records - if the person had been moving between the continent and the UK, and his family doesn't see him for six months and a year, he might not yet have been missed.

"It might take time, but we will continue."