Village meeting held into bonfire death

9:43am Wednesday 27th August 2008

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THE last days of David Langdon, whose badly burned was found in the remains of a bonfire near Much Dewchurch, are still far certain despite nearly two weeks of intensive investigation.

Detectives don’t even have a time of death to work with and are waiting on a range of forensic tests to push the probe further.

Last night a community meeting - called by the police - at Wormelow was told that the death was being investigated as unexplained, with anything else not much more than guesswork.

“We can only be sure of only one fact, David Langdon was found dead lying in the remains of a bonfire on the property where he lived - the when, who, how, why, etc at this stage can only be speculation until hard evidence determines otherwise,” said Supt Kevin Purcell, who chaired the meeting.

The body of Mr Langdon was found at Wood Cottage, a hillside home near Much Dewchurch, after a 999 call to police on Thursday, August 14, said he had thrown himself into a bonfire.

Mr Langdon, a 40-year-old landscape gardener and woodsman, was definitely last seen alive a week earlier on August 7. Detectives need to confirm any sightings of Mr Langdon after that date, particularly Friday, August 8, when he simply seemed to disappear over 24 hours - very unusual for an “outgoing, outdoor guy”.

Any sightings of him after that Friday are not certain, and remain vital to the investigation.