One of the UK’s top pathologists has backed calls to exhume a toddler’s body to prove she was murdered more than 60 years ago.
Professor Derrick Pounder investigated the notorious case of serial killer Harold Shipman, the twisted doctor responsible for at least 250 deaths in the 1990s.
Shipman mainly targeted elderly women, with 80% of his victims female OAPs, before he committed suicide in his cell at HMP Wakefield in 2004.
Now, the top professor has said re-examining the remains of two-year-old Alexina Kelbie could uncover vital evidence missed when she died in foster care in Dundee.
Alexina’s brother Peter is leading a campaign to uncover the truth about his sister’s death after a review of the case by the world-renowned forensics expert uncovered evidence of abuse withheld by police.
Prof Pounder says exhuming the toddler’s remains could unlock fresh evidence. He told the Record: “There is a saying we use. The only evidence of no value is the evidence not collected.”
Alexina and her siblings, who were of Romany Gypsy heritage, were taken into temporary care after allegations of negligence at camps emerged. She died of a head injury after being taken to hospital by her foster mother on August 31, 1960.
An investigation suggested it was self inflicted and no criminality was established by police, reports the Daily Record.
Tayside Police carried out reviews at Peter’s request in 1988, 1993 and in 2006. In 2021, the force admitted it did not alert relatives to a huge development in the 2006, review when Prof Pounder found evidence of extensive abuse while examining freshly uncovered photographs of the child’s body.
The force also said a probe was undertaken into the handling of the case by PIRC – the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner. But Peter says he had no knowledge of this or PIRC’s findings.
Last year Peter, who lives in Gretna, rejected an “insulting” £25,000 compensation offer after police admitted officers demonstrated “poor judgment”.
Recalling his crucial part in the 2006 review, Prof Pounder said no record of Alexina’s post mortem could be found at Dundee University, where he was professor of forensic medicine for 26 years. Instead, he studied photographs, recently uncovered by police, which left him in no doubt she had met an “assaultive death”.
He said: “The police came to see me to ask if there was any record of the examination which took place in my department, which would have taken place under my predecessor, and there was no record. Looking at the photographs we would now regard it as a classical case (of abuse).
However, without any evidence of what had happened internally it was not possible to directly link the external injuries with any potential internal injuries, so there was an evidential gap there.”
Peter has previously called for his sister’s remains to be exhumed. Prof Pounder believes many experts would dedicate their time to the case for free and all that’s needed is the legal permission for exhumation.
He said: “Even from the external appearance I don’t doubt that this is an assaultive death. All we lack is the precise detail of the mechanism.”
The detective in charge of the 1988 review concluded Alexina’s death had been fully investigated. The 1993 review showed physical abuse was investigated but the post mortem did not provide evidence to support it.
Peter said: “This little girl was murdered. She was two years old and nobody cares. If police had done their job in 1960 we wouldn’t be here. People would be in jail for this.”
Alexina’s death has since formed part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, with findings due to be reported in due course.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “A complaint regarding the investigation into the death of Alexina Kelbie was received and we note the findings of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.”
