VIDEO: Police search Lincolnshire farm in connection with Ravenshead jeweller Marian Bates’ murder

POLICE are searching a farm in Lincolnshire for the body of a man wanted for questioning over the murder of a jeweller from Ravenshead.

Specialist search teams today (Monday 4 February) are attending Maize Farm, in East Heckington, Lincolnshire, to carry out enquiries into the whereabouts of James Roger Brodie.

James Brodie, who was then 20, from Bulwell, is believed to have gone missing shortly after jeweller Marian Bates was shot dead during a robbery at the Time Centre, in Arnold, in September 2003.

Police wanted to speak to Brodie over her murder and he was also wanted for three armed robberies and a racially aggravated assault, all of which were committed in a 12-hour period three weeks before Marian Bates was killed.

Over the last nine years, he has not made any contact with family or friends in Nottingham and despite significant enquiries across England and Scotland, where he had connections, he has not been located.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Griffin said: “Over the years all the evidence we have collated suggests that James Brodie is dead. We have launched a murder investigation and as part of that our efforts to find him will continue.

“New lines of enquiry have led us to this location and the search today will involve a number of experts and specialists who can offer advice and information on how to find things that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

“People’s mindset and allegiances change with time and there may well be someone out there now with information about James Brodie who felt they couldn’t speak out in 2003. I would urge them to think about how they would feel if it was their relative or loved one, and if they know anything, then speak to us.

“For the sake of James’s family, we have never given up on this case, and our investigation will continue to find him.”

The search is expected to continue for a number of days.