Third exhumation in deaths probe

Widower Fred Green died in January 2006

A third body has been exhumed by police investigating seven suspicious deaths at a care home in Somerset.

Fred Green, 81, who is buried at Kingweston Cemetery, had been resident at Parkfields home in Butleigh, near Glastonbury, which was closed in March.

Last month the bodies of Nellie Mary Pickford, 89, and Marion Alder, 79, were taken for examination.

Mr Green's body was exhumed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, said an Avon and Somerset Police spokesman.

His remains will be taken to Yeovil District Hospital, where a post-mortem examination and toxicology tests will be carried out.

The body will be reburied privately on Thursday and no further exhumations are expected.

Detective Inspector Ben Batley said: "We've had no problems overnight and the exhumation has been successfully and safely carried out.

"We would like to thank the local community for their continued cooperation and support at what is obviously a difficult time for people living near the churchyard, and Mr Green's family."

Mr Green was born in Keinton Mandeville and moved to Kingweston in 1967 with his wife, Esther, and four children.

He was widowed in 1980 and remained in Kingweston for the rest of his life.

Leigh and Rachel Baker - from Glastonbury - were both bailed

He died on 6 January 2006, leaving four children, 10 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Parkfields' former managers were questioned after the New Year's Day death of Lucy Cox, 97.

Nurse Rachel Baker, 45, who was listed as the home manager, was arrested on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.

Her 48-year-old husband Leigh, a chef at the home, was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the administration of a noxious substance.

The pair, who live in Glastonbury, have both been bailed until September.

Police are unable to examine the bodies of three other former residents because they were cremated.

The care home investigation began after an inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) in January.

At the time a CSCI spokesman said: "We carried out an unannounced inspection at the home... and found that standards had deteriorated significantly since the previous inspection in June 2006."