Police launch murder inquiry after remains found in Croydon park

Police have launched a murder investigation after human remains were discovered in a park in south London.

The Metropolitan police consulted a forensic anthropologist, who confirmed that the remains were human and came from one victim.

Searches are being carried out in Rowdown Fields in Croydon after the discovery on Tuesday morning. Investigators are not yet able to give any information about the victim, including their age, sex, or ethnicity, until further tests are carried out.

DI Martin Thorpe said: “We are not going to give specific details on our search of the area, but I can confirm that since yesterday we have recovered further remains.

“After consultation with a forensic anthropologist, we are certain that these are human.

“At this time, our search is not complete, and so local people will continue to see officers in the area. This is being treated as murder, and we currently believe the remains belong to one victim.

“Samples have [been] sent away for urgent forensic analysis and I anticipate that a special postmortem examination will take place later this week.”

Police were called shortly after 9am on Tuesday to reports of possible human remains found in the park.

Officers will remain at the scene throughout the night and are not searching any other sites at this stage, the Met said.

Thorpe added: “Our priority is to identify the victim, but until we are in possession of fuller facts, informed by the postmortem examination we are not in a position to confirm the person’s age, ethnicity, or gender.

“A family has lost their loved one, and as a team, we are focusing on finding them and securing the answers they will need to come to terms with their loss.”

Supt Lewis Collins, who leads policing in the area that covers Croydon, said: “This is a very disturbing discovery and over the last day or so, the community in our borough has pulled together to give officers the space they need to carry out this important work.

“We are very appreciative of their support and we continue to ask that speculation on this case is kept to a minimum. We will keep people informed as soon as we have updates to share.”