First picture of 'body in the woods' victim

Last night the father of Victoria Couchman, 19, was being questioned on suspicion of her murder.

Medical records were used to establish that the skull and other body parts, including pelvic and leg bones, were hers.

Police said they had yet to establish if Victoria, a single mother, had been reported missing or for how long she had not been seen.

It was originally thought that the body had been in the woods for 10 years, but since identifying her, detectives now believe it was 18 months.

A group of children playing in Redgeland Wood, near Wishing Tree Reser­voir in Hastings, East Sussex, found the skull last Monday afternoon.

Further forensic searches revealed the other body parts. They did not appear to have been buried.

Sussex Police announced that a 45-year-old local man had been arrested on suspicion of murder and sources confirmed he was Victoria’s father Tony. Her parents were separated.

Police said their team of detectives was now working to establish how she ended up in the woods.

They have yet to disclose any details on the cause of death. They said the bones were degraded, making it difficult.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police’s major crime branch, said: “It is vital for us to now establish the circumstances as to how Victoria died and came to be in Redgeland Wood.”

One key piece of information for police trying to identify her came from the victim’s upper left leg which had suffered a full break and had been pinned.

Inspector Heather Keat­ing said: “This is a tragedy for the family and we will be working with them and the wider community to establish what happened to Victoria.”

She added that high-visibility police patrols will be in the area reassuring the local community.

They will also be appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Police were yesterday granted a further 36 hours until 11.22pm tonight to quiz her father.

A fingertip search was continuing in the wood where her remains were ­discovered.