BBC investigator asks museums for help tracing remains of murder victim

A BBC Sounds podcast series is appealing to museums in the UK to help trace the remains of a 1943 murder victim.

The Body In The Tree series is investigating the unsolved murder of a woman whose remains were found in a hollow tree in Hagley, Worcestershire, on 14 April 1943.

The woman has never been identified, and her killer or killers have not been caught. The case was closed in 2014 after a review by West Mercia Police and the case file is now a public archive.

The BBC investigation has found that the woman’s skeletal remains and some items of clothing and a pair of shoes were retained by Professor James Webster, a home office pathologist from Birmingham. His collection was once housed at the Tally Ho police training centre in Birmingham where it was used to train recruits. It was colloquially known as the ‘Black Museum’.

“We’re hoping to be able to trace the woman’s remains and, using 2023 science, test them to see if we can find her country and place of origin and maybe, find some of her relatives,” said Nicola Goodwin, the writer and presenter of The Body In The Tree. “We’d love to be able to give her a name, her name, and give her the dignity of being laid to rest.”

“We know that the remains were then moved, or discarded, in the late 1960s or early 1970s,” said Goodwin.

“After that there is no trace of where they were transferred to or, unfortunately, if they were disposed of. We are hoping that the skeleton may still be in storage in the UK.”

Goodwin is appealing to any museums to see if they have any human remains in their collection linked to the following:

• Dr James Webster
• West Midlands Police
• West Mercia Police
• Worcestershire Police
• Hagley, Worcestershire
• Unknown female, remains found in 1943
• Estimated date of death 1940 to 1942

Anybody who has information can contact Goodwin on 07711 348849 or by email at thebodyinthetree@bbc.co.uk.