Police hunting theft of body
stolen in animals protest find
bones in wood
Detectives investigating the theft of a pensioner's body that was dug up from a
grave by animal rights activists yesterday discovered a set of bones in
woodland.
Officers from the Staffordshire constabulary hope the remains found on land
near the German war cemetery on Cannock Chase are those of Gladys
Hammond, whose body was taken from the cemetery at St Peter's
churchyard, Yoxall, in October 2004.
The theft was the culmination of a six-year hate campaign waged by animal
rights activists against Mrs Hammond's son-in-law, Chris Hall, who ran a farm
that bred guinea pigs for medical research.
In the months that followed, the Hall family received letters from people
claiming to have the remains of Mrs Hammond and offering to reveal the
location of her body.
One group, calling itself the Animal Rights Militia, claimed that part of Mrs
Hammond's body was buried locally. The group also wrote to media
organisations claiming that one-sixth of Mrs Hammond's remains were buried
in a sealed plastic container 2ft underground. A search was conducted but
nothing was found.
Mrs Hammond died, aged 82, in 1997 and she was buried in St Peter's
churchyard, Yoxall. The vicar of Yoxall, the Reverend Jenny Lister,
discovered the grave had been dug up and the body stolen on October 6
2004.
"We do hope for a positive identification of my mother and that we can return
her to her rightful resting place."
After six years of threats and violence the family announced last August they
would stop breeding guinea pigs for bio-medical research in the hope that the
graverobbers would reveal the whereabouts of Mrs Hammond's body.
When John Hall learned of the theft he said: "It goes beyond belief. They call
us scum but I wonder if they really know the meaning of the word."