Human remains found in Sutton-in-Ashfield field belong to man as police probe murder
Human bones which were found in a woodlands are believed to be of a man between the age of 40 and 60, police have said.
A murder investigation is now underway after human bones were found in a Sutton-in-Ashfield field.
The bones were discovered by a member of the public as construction work was being carried out on farmland in Coxmoor Road on Wednesday 26 April.
Police attended the scene and a large cordon was put in place while forensic investigations began to examine the remains for three weeks.
The "trauma" inflicted on the skeleton shows the individual was murdered, Nottinghamshire Police has confirmed.
It's believed the burial site is also not the place where his murder occurred but detectives are convinced whoever disposed of the body intended the individual not to be found.
The bones belong to a male with an estimated age of death of between the ages of 40 to 60 years old and estimated height of between 5'4 1/4 and 5' 6 1/2.
Nottinghamshire Police has not confirmed it to be a recent killing but are hopeful the recent discovery trump 'loyalties' and will prompt witnesses to come forward.
Police originally believed the body could be that of Robin Barrows Spencer, who was reported missing by his mother in June 2004.
He was 47 years old at the time of his disappearance and a murder investigation was launched in 2006 surrounding his disappearance.
His body has never been recovered but a number of arrests were made at the time. However, no one has ever been prosecuted.
Despite extensive DNA testing ,including DNA from family members, the force have concluded the body does not belong to Robin Barrows Spencer.
The body remains unidentified, and investigations on the bones continue.
Skeletal remains were removed from the woodland at the end of last week and a staged post-mortem determined the cause of death.
Specialist officers were working alongside scientists at the site for three weeks using JCBs to dig up the ground as part of the investigation.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said: "This murder may have happened some time ago, but times have changed and so have loyalties.
"At this stage we believe the man was murdered due to the injuries sustained. This includes trauma to parts of skeleton, which are undergoing further analysis.
"We also believe he was buried at this site so no one could find him. It is also possible that the burial site is also not the place where his murder occurred.
"However, we keep an open mind. We also know this is not a murder that has happened recently."