Police probe Doncaster link to Thai woman's 2004 death

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Police are probing a Doncaster link to the death of a Thai woman whose body was found in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004.

Lamduan Armitage, 36, remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the Hills after being found in a stream near Pen-y-ghent 21 years ago.

Police confirmed her husband, David Armitage, 61, who was earlier arrested on suspicion of her murder, had been released on conditional bail.

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North Yorkshire Police said they wanted to speak to people who knew Mrs Armitage and her family when they lived in Sprotborough and also in Preston, Lancashire, between March and October 2004.

Lamduan Armitage remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the HillsLamduan Armitage remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the Hills
Lamduan Armitage remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the Hills

Mrs Armitage remained unidentified for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and came forward.

Mr Armitage, who had lived in Thailand since her death, was arrested when he returned to the UK after the Thai authorities revoked his resident visa.

Mrs Armitage, nee Seekanya, became known as the Lady of the Hills during attempts to identify her after her body was found on 20 September 2004.

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A post-mortem examination established she had died between one and three weeks before her body was found, but it could not determine how she died.

There was no sign of violence and hypothermia was ruled out, but detectives could not answer two main questions; who she was or how she met her death.

A cold case review was started in 2016 and scientific advances meant police were able to piece together a more detailed picture of who she was and concluded she had been killed.

Three years later there was a major breakthrough when a Thai family read about the case and believed the woman could be their daughter who vanished in 2004.

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This led North Yorkshire Police to carry out DNA testing to confirm her identity.

Inquiries established she had moved to the UK in 1991 with Mr Armitage after they were married in Thailand and they had been living in northern England before her death.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “The 61-year-old man arrested on Saturday on suspicion of the murder of Lamduan Armitage in 2004 has been released on conditional bail while police enquiries continue.”

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