Grave Robbery
anon | 14.04.2005 19:07 | Animal Liberation
From the Press Association
An animal rights group which sent letters saying they had the remains of a
pensioner's body that was stolen from a church graveyard should prove their
claims, detectives said today.
Staffordshire Police are following up an offer made by activists to return
part of the remains of grandmother Gladys Hammond, whose body was snatched
from St Peter's Church, in the village of Yoxall, last October.
The macabre offer was made in a chilling letter sent to media organisations
in Staffordshire and Birmingham last week by a group calling itself the
Animal Rights Militia.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Baker, leading the investigation, made an
appeal on the BBC1 Crimewatch programme last month after letters were
received from people claiming to have her body.
In a statement, Mr Baker said they recognised the significance of the
letters and asked the authors to authenticate their claims.
But he added: "In the letters, they now say they have co-ordinates for where
they've put part of Mrs Hammond's body but, a week since their last contact,
they're choosing to stay quiet.
"We are asking them to prove what they say is true by giving us the exact
location.
"The Animal Rights Militia know how to authenticate their claims by
providing us with the co-ordinates of the whereabouts of Gladys Hammond."
The Burton Mail, which received one of the letters, reported that the author
had used a codename and issued a threat to Mrs Hammond's relatives, who run
a guinea pig breeding farm at Newchurch, Staffordshire.
It is understood that the letter states that if the farm stays in business,
a relative or friend of the Hall family will be killed.
The Burton Mail revealed that the communique claimed that "one sixth'' of
Mrs Hammond's remains were entombed in a sealed plastic container buried 2ft
underground in woodland near Newchurch.
Mrs Hammond, who was 82 when she died in 1997, was the mother-in-law of a
partner in the breeding farm business.
Anyone with information about the desecration of her grave is asked to
contact the incident room on 017 8521 8620 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
An animal rights group which sent letters saying they had the remains of a
pensioner's body that was stolen from a church graveyard should prove their
claims, detectives said today.
Staffordshire Police are following up an offer made by activists to return
part of the remains of grandmother Gladys Hammond, whose body was snatched
from St Peter's Church, in the village of Yoxall, last October.
The macabre offer was made in a chilling letter sent to media organisations
in Staffordshire and Birmingham last week by a group calling itself the
Animal Rights Militia.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Baker, leading the investigation, made an
appeal on the BBC1 Crimewatch programme last month after letters were
received from people claiming to have her body.
In a statement, Mr Baker said they recognised the significance of the
letters and asked the authors to authenticate their claims.
But he added: "In the letters, they now say they have co-ordinates for where
they've put part of Mrs Hammond's body but, a week since their last contact,
they're choosing to stay quiet.
"We are asking them to prove what they say is true by giving us the exact
location.
"The Animal Rights Militia know how to authenticate their claims by
providing us with the co-ordinates of the whereabouts of Gladys Hammond."
The Burton Mail, which received one of the letters, reported that the author
had used a codename and issued a threat to Mrs Hammond's relatives, who run
a guinea pig breeding farm at Newchurch, Staffordshire.
It is understood that the letter states that if the farm stays in business,
a relative or friend of the Hall family will be killed.
The Burton Mail revealed that the communique claimed that "one sixth'' of
Mrs Hammond's remains were entombed in a sealed plastic container buried 2ft
underground in woodland near Newchurch.
Mrs Hammond, who was 82 when she died in 1997, was the mother-in-law of a
partner in the breeding farm business.
Anyone with information about the desecration of her grave is asked to
contact the incident room on 017 8521 8620 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
anon