Body of missing man found in freezer in disused pub by builders could have been there for years

The body of a missing man found in a freezer in a disused pub by builders could have been there for years.

Roy Bigg went missing on 1 February 2012, and his body was discovered in the basement of the former pub building last October.

And police investigating the case told Crimewatch Live they believe he may have been assaulted and murdered.

A postmortem found cause of death to be inconclusive and Roy was identified through his dental records.

Very little is known about him, but he would have been 67 years old when he went missing from Newham, east London.

He was subject to an appeal by Missing People and his image featured on a poster as well as on the organisation’s social media and website.

Work ongoing to establish how Roy died

Roy’s remains were found by builders working on the premises of the former Simpson’s Wine Bar on Romford Road, Forest Gate in Newham on 15 October last year.

The pub has been out of use for some time having become derelict after a fire.

Roy’s case featured on BBC One’s Crimewatch Live on Monday, and Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen of the Met Police’s Specialist Crime Command said Roy was seen by police alive prior to his disappearance, but when they went back to see him they were told he had gone away.

She told Crimewatch Live:”We believe because of the circumstances in which he was found, we believe he was assaulted and murdered, but a pathologist has not been able to give an exact cause of death. Experts are now looking at his bones to establish that.”

Plea for anyone who knew Roy to contact police

Detective Chief Inspector Allen said: “We believe that Roy’s body may have been in the freezer for a number of years.

“Speaking to people who knew him will help us establish not only his lifestyle and habits, but also when he was last seen.

“If you knew Roy please do get in touch with us – his birth date was 8 September 1944, we believe he would have been aged around 70 when he died.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s been a long time since you knew him, or if you only knew him briefly, any information may be of real significance to our enquiries.”

DCI Allen added:“We have released an image of Roy and hope that anyone who knew him will take the time to come forward and speak with us. If you don’t want to speak directly to police please contact Crimestoppers anonymously, but whatever you do, please do make the call.”

Anyone who knew Roy Bigg should call the Incident Room on 020 8345 1570, call 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting CAD4332/15OCT21.

To remain 100% anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.

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