Forgive Me Father DAVID

Kings Parade

Detectives in Essex was working to identify a woman, who was suspected as having fallen from a Houseboat in or near the Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.

The body was washed up near the Seafront on the Kings Parade, Holland-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea. It was thought she may have entered the water some weeks before. Essex Police who was based at the Pitsea Police Station was trying to see whether the woman was a registered missing person from New South Wales, Australia.

It was unclear how the woman came to be in the water, the police was treating the death as suspicious due to the circumstances which were identified at the scene. She has been described as approximately 5ft 2 inch tall, petite and with short, light hair.

When she was found, she was wearing a long sleeve Hi Gear walking base layer in a size 10, LA gear black rain resistant walking trousers size 10 and a sky blue Kik jacket worn over them all.

Police found a brown Derwent IV Waterproof Walking Boot in a size 5 and a Red 40L Waterproof Rucksack containing 1 first aid kit displaying the logo of Lake Macquarie AU on the front. These items was found nearby, which they thought could also be linked to her. The Police appealed for anyone with information on the identity of the woman to get in contact with them.

A hospital post mortem examination was to be carried out to further investigate the cause of death, with careful external and internal examinations of the woman who had died which the Police hoped would give them valuable information. The Pathologist who was assisted by a technician began the examination with a cut which was made down the front of the body and internal organs was taken out for a detailed examination. As the brain also needed to be examined, an incision was made in the hair at the base of the head. Small tissue samples was taken for further investigations with a microscope.

Whilst the post mortem was being carried out, officers at the station was investigating the deceased woman’s clothing and items found nearby. They found the first aid kit with the logo and searched on the internet for logos that was the same or similar. After several hours, a match was found, the logo belonged to Lake Macquarie AU Houseboats LTD. Typing the name into Google, they found a contact address and a phone number for the business. ″Sarge, I’ve located an address for the first aid kit″ said PC Kaitlin. Detective Sergeant Longford called the number listed on Google Maps. ″The only booking we had for the 45 footer was 5 weeks ago. Hang on a sec let me just check when it was exactly″ said the guy. ″Yeah, it was for a birthday, rented out to a group of 8 people″ he said ″Who made the booking″ asked Detective Sergeant Longford. ″A lady, Patricia Vincent″. The detective asked who the party was booked for, ″Patricia said it was for her friend David Snell″. The detective thanked him for his help and put the phone down.

Police released further details of the body washed up at the popular tourist spot. ″The body of a woman found near the Seafront on the Kings Parade, Holland-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea has been confirmed to be that of Patricia Vincent. Officers say the woman is not local to the area, her sad death is being treated as suspicious. Formal identification has taken place and the woman’s family have been informed.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “A file is being prepared for the coroner following the sad death of a woman at Kings Parade.

“We were called after the woman, who is not local to the area, was discovered on the beach. Her death is being treated as suspicious and her family are being supported by officers. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. Anyone with information should call Essex Police″

Three days after the police had released details of Patricia’s body being washed up on the beach, Humberside Police - Grimsby North Police Station received a 999 call. ″Emergency, which service please?″ said the woman’s voice″ ″Police″ And what’s the address of the emergency? ″3A Sidings Road″ the woman said in a panic. ″What is your emergency″ asked the woman, ″My husband thinks he has found human bones in the back garden″ she said. ″OK we have someone on their to way to you as we speak″. The phone went dead.

The first person at the scene was PC Tom Pearson, he secured the scene, until the case investigator, physical anthropologists and law-enforcement specialists arrived. Mr and Mrs Ashborne was sitting in the living room, he had his arm around her shoulders as she cried. PC Pearson explained what was going to happen with the Crime Scene Investigators. The crime scene personnel work together to define and secure areas that may contain evidence, examine and document the scene, collect physical evidence and preserve, package and submit the evidence to the laboratory for analysis. With these key pieces of evidence, the investigator can attempt to reconstruct the elements of the crime.

The crime scene team conducted their job thoroughly , which meant that it would be more able to accurately determine the facts of the case.

Before the excavation could take place, a preliminary visit to the suspected site was necessary to map the area to be excavated. Above all the area had to be cleared of surface debris. Search party personnel need to be briefed on customary elements that indicated the location of a grave site. Buried bodies are usually not accessible to animals, insects or changes in surface temperature, therefore, the rate of decomposition relied solely on the activity of microorganisms and soil structure. In the case of this shallow grave, the process of decomposition was more rapid.

It took several hours for the bones to be recovered and taken by the forensic anthropologist. The bones was placed in individual bags and boxes, and transferred to the morgue. The bones was cleaned and laid out in anatomical position ready for examination.

Determination of sex was crucial for further analysis these of these unidentified human remains but it was soon discovered that these remains belonged to a female. Forensic dentists had used the teeth for identification using digital photographs which was taken of the teeth to compare to a smile in a photograph during the victim’s lifetime.

The following day, PC Pearson revisited the home of Mr and Mrs Ashborne. He needed to ask them a few questions about the crime scene. ″How long have you lived at this address″ asked PC Pearson. ″Oh″ said Albert, ″About 4 years, we wanted to downsize after our youngest decided to leave home″. ″Do you know who lived here before you?″ ″I was once told it was a young lady, married to a priest″ replied Hazel. ″She was beautiful, I found a couple of photos of her in the back of the cupboard under the stairs, just after we moved in″ she continued. ″Do you still have the photos″ asked the officer.

Albert stood up and went to the cupboard opened the door, pulling out an upright vacuum, a box full of reading books, some old shoes, some shelves that he hadn’t put up yet ″Ah″ he said ″I must put them up now they’re out″. ″Sorry officer, I’m just trying to see if they are still there at the back″ said Albert. Finally after emptying the entire cupboard, he found two photos, one appeared to be of the young lady, stood on some rocks against a brilliant blue skyline, it looked as though she was on holiday. The other one was of her with a man. ″Looks like Canada to me″ said Hazel, ″No love, it’s New South Wales″ as they looked at the photos again.

″Thank you Mr and Mrs Ashborne, the photos are very useful. I must get back to the station, bu if you have any questions or you remember anything else, give me a call″ the officer said as he stood up and walked to the front door. ″Don’t bother getting up I’ll see myself out″ he added, the door closing behind him.

The remains was later identified as those belonging to Kathleen Snell, wife to David Snell and was thought to have been buried in the garden for a least 4 years

That afternoon, A Police spokesperson carried out a press release

″Detectives in North East Lincolnshire was called to an address on Sidings Road early yesterday morning where Scenes of Crime officers discovered the human remains of a female. The remains are believed to be those of Kathleen Snell aged 44

House to House enquiries are taking place to identify any witnesses who was or is living and/or working in the Sidings Road location for the past four years . Police are asking the general public of any sightings they may have had of the victim. Officers say the woman is local to the area, her sad death is being treated as suspicious. Formal identification has taken place and the woman’s family have been informed and we have offered our deepest sympathy to the family.

During the House to House enquiries some people when initially contacted was reluctant to provide officers with information so they left leaflets at each address giving details of the investigation and contact telephone numbers.