Sydenham hill woods closed

[JulietP]

The police have cordoned off the entirety of sydenham hill woods, so if you fancy a sunday walk, go elsewhere.

Looks like the whole place is a crime scene.

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[JulietP]

They must have expanded the crime scene since then - all the entrances are closed with uniformed officers at each.

Update: we've looped round via dulwich and the only entramce that remains closed is the cox's walk entrance on sydenham hill road. All the others - including the crescent entrance that was closed earlier - have all reopened. The bridge is still blocked off.

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[ALIB]

Yep, the dog walker involved had discovered another body at the start of this year. So he (or his dog) have found 2 suicides in 5 months.
The police seem to think the woods will be open as normal tomorrow.

3 suicides in 3 years. Not good

[simon]

If it isn't in bad taste, what sort of dog does he have?

[ALIB]

As Jules said, it's a sheepddog/collie. The dogs nameis 'scoosie'.

[rabidreader]

I can confirm that the whole of the woods were closed, and that a body was found. My girlfriend and I went to go for a walk there around 10.30am, and a remarkably open policeman told us it was a murder scene, that the victim was likely moved there rather than killed there because it's a quiet place to leave a body, and that it was the second time this year (after one in January). Amazing how little this is reported in the press.

[Wing]

http://www.demotix.com/news/1212207/fem ... ods-london

[Eagle]

Yes rather worrying. I contend that the reported murder figures are only the tip of the iceberg.

[simon]

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/97046 ... Hill_Wood/

[ALIB]

the first two 'incidents' were suicides, and i would imagine they didn't make the press for a few reasons.

Firstly identification of the body may take time
And establish foul play (or not)
Then the police have to ensure the next of kin are informed. Sometimes this may take longer than used to be the case, due to fractured families.
Sometimes the press do not publish stories due to the sensitivity of the case.

In fact flowers are still left in the woods by the daughter of the second suicide, on a regular basis

[Manwithaview1]

We leave flowers for my late life partner whose ashes are spread in Sydenham Hill Woods. She passed away after jumping from the 22nd floor of a tower block in Stockwell April 2009.

[JulietP]

I think it's inappropriate to discuss details about the event that the police have not released while there's an ongoing police investigation. I suggest Admin - or Jules herself - deletes the reference above.

[hazy]

agree - inappropriate & also insensitive

[Rachael]

I agree, re Jules's post. I don't think it's appropriate.

We had a similar debate about how appropriate speculation was the last time a body was found in the woods

manwithaview1 - that's sad, and touching.

[ALIB]

i agree.
The last time i started a thread about a body in Sydenham woods, I alerted ADMIN to delete. Retrospectively, It was a bad idea to start the thread.

Likewise , julietP's initial post was ill-thought and 'she' shouldn't blame others for contributing

[JulietP]

I think that's a little unfair. my initial post was to alert people to the woods being closed. You'll notice that I gave no details about the event that caused the closure, nor did I contribute to the subsequent speculation.

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[hazy]

julietp - i have no issues with your postings on this - apologies if it seemed otherwise

[michael]

I think it's inappropriate to discuss details about the event that the police have not released while there's an ongoing police investigation. I suggest Admin - or Jules herself - deletes the reference above.

Perhaps the police and news organisation should provide some appropriate information. Usually the police will at least say if they are treating the death as suspicious. Without any such official information it is hardly surprising that details are discussed that may or may not be inappropriate.

When the police shot a man in Forest Hill they were quick to provide a certain amount of information (some of which is under investigation by the IPCC as inappropriate). It seems reasonable to expect some appropriate information to be given to the public through official channels in this situation. There is legitimate public concern and interest in such a situation, not least in case this was a completely random attack and there may be risks for others in the woods. I'm sure this is not the case, but would it hurt anybody for some reassurance to be given to the public, just as it was when the police shoot a man in the street.

I would like to think that if there were suspicious circumstances that the police would be appealing for witnesses, and if there were an ongoing danger to the public that they would be issuing warning. Should we interpret the failure to communicate as the best reassurance we can expect from the police force?