Body snatchers ‘sent hate mail to Halls’

THE family of a woman whose body was stolen from a graveyard have received hate mail from animal rights extremists claiming to be in possession of her remains, it emerged yesterday.

Staffordshire Police confirmed that the letters had been sent to the Hall family, members of which breed guinea pigs for medical research at Darley Oaks Farm in Newchurch, near Burton upon Trent, Staffs.

The force revealed last week that the body of 82-year-old Gladys Hammond the mother-in-law of Chris Hall had been taken from her burial plot in nearby Yoxall, Staffordshire.

A police spokesman said: "We can confirm that several threatening letters have been sent to the Hall family and people connected to them. The writer states that they have the remains of Mrs Hammond."

Officers stress that they are unable to verify the claim from the content of the letters, but they are currently being tested and analysed for evidence by forensic specialists.

"At this early stage we cannot positively link the letters to the desecration of Mrs Hammond's grave," the spokesman added.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Baker, the senior investigating officer, said: "We deplore the actions of those who have sent these letters.

"I would urge anyone who has any information they believe may help this inquiry to contact us."