Remains in garden start murder inquiry

Nottinghamshire Police believe the victims are William Wycherley, who would now be 100, and his wife Patricia, 79.

Their bodies were uncovered by officers who were led to the semi-detached house in Mansfield last week after a tip-off.

The couple moved in to the two-bedroom property at Blenheim Close, Forest Town, in 1987, but vanished after 1998.

Post-mortem tests have been carried out on the bodies but have so far proved inconclusive.

Speaking at a press briefing in Nottingham, Detective Chief Inspector Rob Griffin said: “Whilst it’s difficult to ascertain cause of death given the passage of time, the circumstances in which the skeletal remains have been found is suspicious and we have now launched a murder inquiry.”

He added: “Insofar as suspects are concerned we are entirely open-minded but it’s far too early in the investigation to be talking about suspects at this stage.”

Neighbours last week said they had believed the couple had emigrated after they vanished from the address in the 1990s.

It was reported this week that family members had been receiving Christmas cards signed “Bill and Pat” up until four years ago.

Mr Griffin said there was no known motive for the murders as yet, but that tests are continuing to establish the cause of death and when the couple died.

He added that it would be “weeks rather than days” before the results are known.

The bodies were unearthed last week after police received a tip-off about an “incident” which happened in the late 1990s. No further details have been released about the nature of the incident.

The house, which the couple owned, was sold in 2005. Police have confirmed that the owner and tenant are not part of their investigation.

Mr Griffin said a “key part” of the inquiry is who lived at the address between 2000 and 2005.

Asked whether he knew who lived there during that period, the officer said: “What happened around that period we’re really interested in but at this moment in time, no, we don’t know.”

He said neighbours past and present had described the couple, who are believed to have had a daughter, as “reclusive” and said they kept to themselves.

They have never been reported missing and police have so far been unable to find any trace of them either alive or dead since the late 1990s.

Mr Griffin said he was “confident” the remains were those of the couple.