SHOCKWAVES swept through a sleepy Cotswold village as residents spoke of their horror after human remains were unearthed in a field near Eastleach. 31st March 2011.
National attention has been firmly focused on the small village of Eastleach this week as police investigating the disappearance of Swindon woman Sian O’Callaghan, 22, were directed to the area by the man accused of her murder.
Police were taken to the site by 47-year-old Swindon taxi driver Chris Halliwell who has been charged with murder Sian’s murder.
Police were taken to the site by 47-year-old Swindon taxi driver Chris Halliwell who has been charged with murder Sian’s murder.
On Tuesday this week, after six days of digging, officers confirmed they had fully removed the remains of another victim.
Police said they believe the remains belong to a woman, aged 23-30, who was abducted from Swindon between 2003 and 2005. Forensic investigations to identify the woman are ongoing.
Forensic teams had been working at the site since Thursday, painstakingly shifting through soil.
Part of a dry stone wall was removed and two trenches were excavated, where officers in protective clothing were on their hands and knees in the mud.
Eastleach residents spoke to the Standard this week about their shock at the events.
Sue Richardson, landlady of the Victoria Inn, said everyone in the village had been talking about it.
“We just cannot believe what has gone on, you would never expect something like that to happen on your doorstep,” she said. “I think all villagers are in total disbelief.”
Mike Pinder, 29, of nearby Hatherop, said: “The last time Eastleach was in the news was when Kate Moss got married here, now we are getting attention because of this gruesome discovery, it seems surreal.
“It feels like something out of a middle England murder mystery program. I often walk around the village and it is so peaceful and picturesque, now it just has a very morbid feel to it.”
Resident Beth Verrechia (corr) said: “I hope the police manage to identify the body soon for the sake of the woman’s family. It is such a sad thought that she has been missing for potentially eight years.”
One lady, who asked not to be named, said it was absolutely devastating.
“I have lived here all my life and never has anything like this happened before. The village has come to a standstill.”
Miss O’Callaghan’s body was found in a field near Uffington, Oxfordshire, on Thursday night and has since been identified formally by her family.
The 22-year-old office worker had been missing since Saturday, March 19 after she failed to return home from a night at Suju nightclub in Old Town.
Christopher Halliwell, 47, of Ashbury Avenue, Nythe, appeared at Swindon Magistrate’s Court on Monday this week charged with her murder.
Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
