Police dig up body of mystery woman on North York Moors

Two large white tents marked the spot at Malton Cemetery where a police team was preparing to dig into the woman’s grave to disinter her skeleton and recover DNA.

Detectives revealed five families from across the North of England had come forward to say they could be related to the woman, whose naked body was discovered at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, in August 1981.

North Yorkshire Police suspect she was murdered, but say confirming her identity is crucial to their investigation.

The exhumation of the body from its grave in Malton cemetery, in North Yorkshire, began at midnight.

This morning, a North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “The exhumation went ahead as planned and the remains of the unidentified woman left the cemetery at 7.45am this morning for a designated mortuary to enable samples to be taken for DNA analysis.

“The remains will be returned to the cemetery tomorrow morning for a re-interment service at 11am.”

The remains have been removed to allow DNA to be taken from the thigh bone and the teeth if possible.

A religious minister attended during the exhumation and will perform a short service when the remains are reinterred tomorrow, when a wreath will also be laid by North Yorkshire Police.

The head of North Yorkshire’s major crime unit, Detective Superintendent Lewis Raw, said: “There is nothing in law which says we have to do it at night, but there is a tradition that exhumations are done that way.

“It is a very emotional event and doing it overnight allows it to be done with some dignity and in some peace.”

Det Supt Raw said it could be up to a month before police are able to compare the forensic evidence with the national DNA database.

The woman’s profile may also be compared with DNA samples provided by the families who have contacted police.

Det Supt Raw appealed to an anonymous male caller, whose tip-off in 1981 led police to the woman’s body, to get in touch.