West Midlands Police say a 50-year-old man, who is believed to have been known to the victim, was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into police custody in Derby on 25 August. He has since been bailed.
It is believed the recycling centre involved is operated by waste management company Budget Skips Services.
A post-mortem examination took place yesterday (26 August) to ascertain the victim’s identity.
In a statement published on 25 August West Midlands Police said: “We’ve launched a murder investigation after a body was found at a recycling unit in Warwickshire on Friday 21 August.
“We were made aware that a freezer – transported to a waste management centre in Colliery Lane, Exhall – had been opened and the body of an elderly man had been discovered. The freezer had been moved from a flat clearance by a housing association in Birmingham.
“A post-mortem examination is due to take place tomorrow (Wednesday 26 August) which will help identify the man.
“Today (Tuesday) a 50-year-old man, who is believed to have been known to the victim, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into police custody in Derby.
“Enquiries continue and anyone with information is asked to contact us via Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk 8am – midnight or call 101 anytime. Crimestoppers can be called anonymously on 0800 555 111. Quote log 2654 of 21 August.”
Skips
The recycling centre was named in the Sun yesterday as Budget Skips Services’ site on the Bayton Road Industrial Estate. Budget Skips Services describes itself as “a well-established company who have been in business for over 20 years”. With more than 70 employees, the company says it offers skips to Coventry, Bedworth, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and other surrounding areas in the Warwickshire area.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com Budget Skips Services declined to comment.
The grisly discovery was one of several bodies found at recycling centres at the weekend. The body of a newborn baby was found wrapped in a towel at a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) in Bradford on 20 August (see letsrecycle.com story). And, Edinburgh’s Craigmillar HWRC was closed for two days earlier this week after a body was found in a nearby wooded area in unexplained circumstances.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1pm on 22 August, the body of a man was found in a wooded area near Old Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh. The death is being treated as unexplained and enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.”
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