Headless corpse in Norfolk may be sex worker 'The Duchess'

Detectives trying to identify a headless body discovered more than 40 years ago in Norfolk believe the victim may have been a Danish sex worker known as The Duchess.

Her body was discovered in August 1974, near a field in the village of Cockley Cley, in Norfolk.

The woman, who was in her 20s or early 30s, was found wearing a pink nightdress from Marks & Spencer and had been wrapped in plastic sheeting and tied up with rope.

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Her head was never discovered and her body was buried in an unmarked grave.

Police investigating the cold case believe they are now on the verge of a major breakthrough after a second post-mortem was carried out on her remains.

"With the advances we have made in science, we are now able to look at the case in more microscopic detail and we now have her full DNA profile," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Guy.

"I believe if we identify the victim we can identify her murderer," he told the BBC.

DNA profiling suggests the woman had lived in central Europe or Scandinavia, tallying up with suspicions that she was The Duchess.

Her real name is not known, but it is thought The Duchess lived in a builder's hut on the Yarmouth dockside. "She became well-known to the lorry drivers and dock workers as a sex worker before she abruptly disappeared in 1974," says The Independent.

The examination also revealed the victim had likely given birth to at least one child. "It is absolutely possible we could use the DNA recovered to link the woman to a living family member," said DCI Guy.