Body on Queen's estate identified

8 January 2012 Last updated at 09:56 ET

Alisa was last seen in Norfolk in August

Detectives investigating the murder of a young woman found on the Queen's Sandringham Estate have named the victim as 17-year-old Alisa Dmitrijeva.

Her body was found by a dog walker in woodland at Anmer, near King's Lynn, on New Year's Day.

Latvian-born Miss Dmitrijeva was identified by comparing detail from her palm with records held.

Miss Dmitrijeva, from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, was last seen in Friars Street, King's Lynn, on 31 August.

In a press statement, Miss Dmitrijeva's family said they were "devastated" by news of her death.

Forensics experts had struggled to identify the body.

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Attempts to get a useable DNA profile for Miss Dmitrijeva from tooth and muscle samples were inconclusive.

The teenager was finally identified by comparing details from her palm with records held, which were further verified by DNA from her thigh bone.

A £5,000 reward was offered for information about Miss Dmitrijeva's whereabouts in December, just over three months after she went missing.

A Facebook advert, translated into Lithuanian and Latvian, was also used to try to trace the missing teenager.

Miss Dmitrijeva's remains were found on the Queen's Sandringham estate by a dog walker

Det Ch Insp Jes Fry, head of the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk major investigation team, said detectives would be working with officers from Cambridgeshire who had been trying to find Miss Dmitrijeva as a missing person.

The site where Miss Dmitrijeva's body was found is used regularly for pheasant and partridge shoots, often attended by members of the royal household.

'Highly unlikely'

Police have spoken to the Sandringham gamekeeper, estate manager and beaters for potential leads.

Officers want to speak to anyone who may have been in the area between the end of August and the end of September.

"I should add we are still trying to establish any activity which took place on or around the site during the time frame of the end of August to the end of September 2011," Mr Fry said.

"We would like to identify people who may have worked in that area or were involved in organising or running any specific events that may have taken place."

Police said it was "highly unlikely" Miss Dmitrijeva had died through natural causes.

There was no evidence of accidental injury, damage due to firearms or a bladed weapon, they said.

Continue Reading... Labels: estate, identified, Queen's

UK police identify body found on queen's estate

LONDON (AP) — The remains of a woman found on one of Queen Elizabeth's vast estates belong to a 17-year-old missing girl, British detectives investigating the murder said Sunday.

Forensic tests identified the decomposed body as that of Latvian Alisa Dmitrijeva, who was reported missing from her home in eastern England in August, Norfolk Police said.

The body was found by a dog walker on New Year's Day in woodland three miles (five kilometers) from the royal residence at Sandringham House.

Sandringham, in rural Norfolk, is a vast estate where Queen Elizabeth II and her family traditionally gather to celebrate the holiday season. The royal family is not implicated in the crime in any way.

Part of the nearly 31-square-mile (8,000-hectare) estate is open to the public, and the body was found at Anmer, a hamlet of several dozen people.

Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry, who is probing the case, said police are trying to find out about any activity that took place on or near the site in August through September, and looking for people who may have worked in the area.

Continue Reading... Labels: estate, found, identify, police, Queen's

Royal estate body was young woman

4 January 2012 Last updated at 12:51 ET

Alisa Dmitrijeva and Vitalija Baliutaviciene went missing in August last year

A woman found dead on the Queen's Sandringham Estate is thought to have been aged between 15 and 23.

The remains were found by a dog walker in Anmer, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, on 1 January.

Police are treating it as murder and are looking at cold cases including the disappearance of Alisa Dmitrijeva, 17, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

They will use "traditional methods" of identifying the victim after they could not establish a DNA profile.

A Norfolk police spokeswoman said: "The body is described as a young, white, adult female, aged between 15 and 23-years-old, which has been at that site for a period estimated to be between a month and up to four months."

Police said officers were examining cold cases across the UK for potential links.

Further searches

Officers confirmed the disappearance of Latvia-born Miss Dmitrijeva was among the cases being investigated in relation to the find.

Other files examined included the disappearance of Vitalija Baliutaviciene, 29, from Peterborough.

The remains were found on the Queen's Sandringham estate by a dog walker

Both women went missing in August.

Detectives said it was "highly unlikely" the woman found on the estate died through natural causes.

There was no evidence of accidental injury, damage due to firearms or bladed weapon, officers said.

Further searches of the area around the site, off Kings Avenue, are continuing.

The body was found in a wooded area on farmland at the 20,000-acre (8,000 hectare) royal estate.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex, have been staying on the Sandringham Estate.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the discovery earlier, saying it was a "matter for Norfolk Police".

Continue Reading... Labels: estate, Royal, Woman, young

Human remains found on UK queen's estate

LONDON (AP) — Human remains have been discovered on Sandringham estate, a vast area in rural Norfolk where the royal family retreats for the holiday season, local police announced Monday.

A terse statement posted to the website of the Norfolk Constabulary said that a member of the public found the remains on New Year's Day in an area of woodland at Anmer, a tiny village about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of London. The hamlet is home to several dozen people and sits around three miles (4.8 kilometers) from Sandringham House, the 19th property at center of several thousand acres of gardens, mudflats, woods, and farmland.

Police Sgt. Andrew Terry said he didn't know whether the remains were found on the site of Sandringham, but Britain's Press Association news agency identified Anmer as being part of the royal estate. No indication of the age or nature of the remains was given, and Terry said no further information would be released until Tuesday.

Sandringham has served as a private residence for British monarchs since 1862, and queen Elizabeth II traditionally retreats there with her family during the holiday season.

The estate's website says that half of the royal residence is rented out to agricultural tenants. There are also two stud farms, a fruit farm and a country park which, together with the estate's gardens, employ over 100 full-time staff.

Buckingham Palace referred questions about the find back to police.

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Online:

Sandringham House: http://ow.ly/8g2IC

Norfolk Constabulary: http://www.norfolk.police.uk/

Continue Reading... Labels: estate, found, human, queen's, Remains

Murder inquiry at Queen's estate

3 January 2012 Last updated at 09:52 ET

The woman's remains were found on the Queen's Sandringham estate by a dog walker

A murder inquiry has begun after human remains were found on the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

Det Ch Insp Jes Fry, of Norfolk Constabulary, said officers were examining cold cases across the UK for potential links.

The force has confirmed the remains were that of a woman.

A dog walker made the discovery at Anmer, near King's Lynn, on New Year's Day. The area has been cordoned off.

Police said the identity of the woman was not yet known.

Detectives would not speculate on the age of the woman or comment on whether the body was clothed.

Cold cases reviewed

"We are at the very early stages of the investigation and it could be a complex inquiry," said Mr Fry.

"I cannot confirm whether she was clothed because, at the moment, only my staff, the person who found the body and the person or people who put it there know that - and I would like it to stay that way.

"The body has been in situ for some time but I can't comment on whether that is weeks, months or years.

"The circumstances suggest this is a murder case and we are looking at missing persons reports and cold cases, both locally and nationwide."

The body was found in a wooded area on farmland at the 20,000-acre (8,000 hectare) royal estate.

Forensic tests

Forensic science experts are carrying out a detailed search of the area - about a mile from the main gate to Sandringham House.

Mr Fry said it was not yet clear if the woman was killed at the scene or taken there after her death.

The body is expected to be recovered later and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, where post-mortem tests will take place.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex, have been staying on the Sandringham Estate.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the discovery, saying it was a "matter for Norfolk police".

Continue Reading... Labels: estate, inquiry, Murder, Queen's