Father Of Woman - 19 - Whose Skeleton Was Found In Woods, Arrested On Suspicion Of Her Murder!!!!!!!

by **J The Kidd** Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:04 pm

The father of a 19-year-old woman whose skeletal remains were found
in woodland in a seaside town was arrested on suspicion of murder,
sources said.

Medical records were used to help establish that the remains
belonged to Victoria Couchman and her family have been informed, police
said.

Children playing in Redgeland Wood, near Wishing Tree Reservoir in the
Queensway area of Hastings, East Sussex, found a human skull on Monday
afternoon.

Further forensic searches revealed other remains, including an upper
left leg, pelvic bone and tibia, which were discovered near each other
and did not appear to be buried.

Last night, Sussex Police announced that a 45-year-old local man has
been arrested on suspicion of murder. Sources said the man was Ms
Couchman's father.

It was originally thought the body had been in the woods for 10 years,
but since identifying Ms Couchman, detectives now believe it to have
been there for 18 months.

Sussex Police said it was now important to establish how Ms Couchman ended up in the woods.

Inspector Becky Newman said today: "Police investigating the discovery
of human remains found in Redgeland Wood believe they have established
the identity of the victim.

Father Of Woman - 19 - Whose Skeleton Was Found In Woods, Arrested On Suspicion Of Her Murder!!!!!!! DivX

"From medical records, it is believed she was Victoria Couchman, 19 years of age, from an address in the local area."

During the course of informing the family of Ms Couchman of the
discovery, a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting
police.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police's major crime
branch, said: "This is a significant breakthrough in the inquiry and it
is vital for us to now establish the circumstances to how Victoria died
and came to be in Redgeland Wood."

Sussex Police said they had yet to establish if Ms Couchman had been reported missing or for how long she had not been seen.

Police said yesterday that around 90 per cent of the skeleton had been
recovered and that the bones were degraded, meaning it was not possible
to establish a cause of death yet.

One key piece of information for police came from the fact that the
victim's upper left leg had suffered a full break and had been pinned.

Local Inspector Heather Keating said: "This is a tragedy for the family
and we will be working with them and the wider community to establish
what happened to Victoria."

She added that high visibility police patrols will be in the area
reassuring the local community and appealing for anyone with
information to come forward.