Body in suitcase found during children’s ‘teddy bear hunt’

A mother taking her children on a teddy bear hunt was shocked to find a suitcase with human remains inside.

The mother had been at the park attending a teddy bear hunt organised as a fundraiser for a local nursery when she saw flies emanating from the case in a wooded area on Friday.

She told KentOnline: ‘I saw the luggage before the police. I was with my niece and nephew, so I was busy keeping them from seeing it.

‘What I saw was the suitcase covered in hundreds of flies. I actually heard the buzzing from them first. I noticed that it was a large suitcase and had a snow sledge next to it.’

The day before, police had been tipped off to potential murder at a flat on Kingfisher Court in Wandsworth, more than 30 miles away from Borstal Recreation Ground, Kent where the discovery was made.

No-one was found in the property but after carrying out a search, officers believed ‘someone had come to harm’ and a murder investigation was launched.

Shortly after two men, aged 27 and 32, living 30 miles away in Wandsworth went to a police station where they were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Ivan Tsvetkov, 38, had been playing with his child at the park when he noticed the police presence at around 7.30pm.

The warehouse worker said: ‘I can’t imagine something like this happening at the park. I play there with my child.

‘There are always loads of people there, so I am shocked by it. It’s a nice quiet area and I wouldn’t expect something like that here.’

Detectives charged Joshua Miller, 32, of Kingfisher Court, Wandsworth, with murder and preventing a lawful and decent burial.

Jamie Cooper, 27, of the same address, has been charged with preventing a lawful and decent burial.

The Met said the victim and both men charged were known to each other.

Both suspects will appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.