Unsolved North Sea Murder
Investigators believe that a murder victim pulled from the North Sea in 1994 may well have been from Bristol, UK
Investigators have released a fresh appeal in hope that a man whose body was dragged from the North Sea off Germany on July 11th 1994 can be identified and the murder solved.
There appears to be possible evidence to indicate that the man came from England or was an English speaker.
When the male’s body was recovered he was wearing black or navy blue, size 11 leather loafers made by a quite expensive English shoe manufacturer, Church & Co Ltd.
The shoes were almost definitely expensive as they had been re-soled and had replacement heels. The soles were supplied by Philipps soles and the heels by Dinky Heel PLC, Bristol.
He was wearing a very expensive tie made of 100% pure wool with green, brown, grey and orange stripes. The label was written with English & french instructions for dry cleaning, He also had french made trousers on with a blue, long-sleeved shirt.
Attempts to identify the male who was pulled from the sea northwest of Heligoland, Germany have proved unsuccessful over the years. He is believed to have been around 45–50 years old when he was murdered. He was 197cm, 6 foot 5 Inches tall, slim built and probably weighed around 12 stone (75kg).
Specialist facial reconstruction consultants have been able to form what they believe to be a good likeness of the male’s face but due to the bad state of decomposition have been unable to identify hair colour and length. They were also unable to confirm the colour of his eyes.
The body had various injuries and had been intentionally weighted down indicating that the unknown male had been murdered. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to establish how the male got into the water, he may have been thrown in from the shore at Heligoland and carried out to sea by the tide or he may have been thrown from a ship.
A professor of psychology and director of forensic psychology from Goldsmiths University, Fiona Gabbert says “We believe that the man is likely to have gone missing somewhere between the end of 1993 and the first six months of 1994 so we’re calling on the public to think back to that time.
“Our research shows that activating memories from a particular period can help individuals remember more information from that particular time so we’re asking you to read through a list of news and events that happened in 1993/1994. Take a while to think where you were and who you knew at this time. Do you think you might know the man we are seeking to identify?”
Fiona pointed out that some of the more major points in the news around the time that the unknown male would have been killed included; the IRA bombings at Heathrow airport in March 1994, the arrest of O.J.Simpson and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa.
Do you recall where you were when those news stories broke? Were you in Germany? Did you have a friend from Heligoland or that area who suddenly vanished or lost touch in late 1993 or early 1994?
The campaign to try to identify the male is being led by a charity in the UK called Locate International and they are working with cold case specialist investigators including teams from Goldsmiths University, Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Staffordshire.
A little bit of information in regard to the cold case investigation team at Goldsmiths is below, but for me, this article is a little different to my usual stuff and I hope that you have enjoyed the read
I will be back in the next few days with an unsolved murder in the meantime if you would like to contact me with regard to this case or any other, please get in touch:
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About the Cold Case Investigations Team at Goldsmiths
The Cold Case Investigations Team (CCIT) is part of the Forensic Psychology Unit, based within the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths University, London.
The CCIT was developed in January 2021 with the aim of examining existing and improving future missing person and unidentified body cold cases. The team consists of postgraduate volunteers, overseen by directors Professor Fiona Gabbert and Dr Adrian Scott. The CCIT is currently involved in several projects in collaboration with UK police forces, the National Crime Agency Missing Persons Unit, and the charity Missing People. They work closely with the charity Locate International and have completed Open-Source Intelligence Training (OSINT) and Active Search training with their experts.
The CCIT offers scientific expertise in the field of Forensic Psychology and produces high-quality research in relation to missing person investigations. They liaise with specialist teams to develop innovative solutions to advance missing person investigations, for example, effective appeals for information, and investigative tools to elicit information and potential new leads. They also liaise with family members and allocate the necessary time to examine every piece of information from a case, ensuring all leads have been explored.
