On January 25, 2010, construction workers working on cleaning an abandoned car park, discovered the skeletal remains of a woman, wrapped in blue carpet.
The remains were found near an area known as Angel Meadow in Manchester. The body had been placed between a fence and a wall so was hidden to any onlookers.
A post-mortem examination concluded that she had been murdered. She had suffered a fractured jaw, neck, collarbone and nose, indicating that she could have been beaten to death. Police also believe that she may have been sexually assaulted as she was naked from the waist down. Her date of death would have been in the 1970’s or 1980’s.
Police found a jumper, blue bra, jacket, tights and an empty handbag near the woman’s body, along with a black stiletto, and a piece of Guinness memorabilia. There was also a 1970’s style green pinafore dress with large buttons found. The woman’s body had been wrapped in a blue carpet, seemingly from a Ford Cortina.
The woman would have been caucasian, 18-35 years old, and between 5ft1 and 5ft7. She was missing an upper right tooth that would have been noticeable when she smiled.
Investigators searches missing persons records and made a public appeal for information in the hopes that someone would recognise the items found with the body, but nothing came of it.
In 2011, experts from Dundee University used facial mapping techniques to reconstruct the woman’s face. She was given the name ‘Angel of the Meadow’ because of the location she was found in.
In 2012, police announced they had a list of 22 potential identities, but none of these produced a positive match.
Police confirmed they had a DNA profile in 2015 and began undertaking a familial DNA search.
In March of the same year, the Angel of the Meadow was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Manchester’s Southern Cemetery. Just two people attended, the detectives that had spent years working on the case.
Despite all of this, the Angel of the Meadow has yet to be identified, and thus neither has her killer.
In 2021 an American genealogy company, Othram, helped fund a proper headstone for the woman.
The case is still open but has been passed to the cold case unit.
If you have any information, you can call Manchester police on 0161 856 5978, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Sources:
https://dnasolves.com/articles/angel-of-the-meadow.html
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Angel_of_the_Meadow
https://mousehouselife.wordpress.com/2022/01/23/angel-of-the-meadow-who-was-she/
