Sarah Mayhew: ‘Limbless Trent’ in London River belongs to woman whose body parts were also found in Croydon

Human remains found in south London yesterday believed to be Sarah Mayhew’s, police say.

Officers were called to Mitcham, south London, after human remains were found in a river by contractors carrying out clean-up work on Tuesday. Police attended and after examining the remains, detectives believe the remains are those of 38-year-old Sarah.

An investigation into Sarah’s disappearance began in April when police were called to information about possible human remains found about 10 miles away on Rowdown Fields in Croydon, south London. During the investigation, two people known to the woman were charged with Sarah’s murder. Gemma Watts, 48, and Steven Sansom, 44, are also charged with preventing her from having a lawful and decent burial.

Sarah’s family, from Croydon, continue to be supported by specially trained officers. Detective Inspector Martin Thorpe, who is leading the investigation for the Met Police, said: “My thoughts remain with Sarah’s family. We will continue to offer our support as our investigation progresses.

“I expect my officers to remain in the area for some time as they carry out important work on site. Two people arrested, who were known to Sarah, were later charged with her murder. We are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with her death. Investigations are ongoing.”

Anyone with information that could help the investigation and who has not yet spoken to police is asked to call 101, quoting reference 1656/02 Apr.

A crime scene was set up in Mitcham after the grim discovery. Police officers were called to Rawnsley Avenue, which is next to the River Wandle in Ravensbury Park, where the remains were found.

The road was closed on the road while officers attended the scene. At this time, police say the investigation is ongoing and they are awaiting official identification, although no arrests have been made so far. Speaking to The Sun, a resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It happened around lunchtime today. They found the limbless torso in the Ravensbury Park pond. The police haven’t told us what it is. They dredged the pond and must have found her.

“Then forensics came in. My wife and I brought the dogs and we were told to move. It’s a really quiet area and we don’t have a lot of crime. It was quite a shock.”

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