Chewing gum traps killer after 36 years

Friday, 24 March 2017 07:00

A man who killed his ex-partner before hiding her body in a cupboard has been convicted of her death 36 years later after his DNA was discovered on chewing gum.

Osmond Bell, aged 60 from Regent Road, Handsworth, has been convicted of the manslaughter of Nova Welsh who he mudered in July 1981.

Bell was arrested after police re-opened the case and used current DNA techniques to test evidence retrieved from the original murder scene; this included a piece of chewing gum that had been used to secure the cupboard door where her body was hidden.

The body of Nova, a 24-year-old mother of two, had been found in a utility cupboard in a communal area at flats where she lived in Lighthorne Avenue, in Ladywood.

Bell was originally arrested following Nova’s death in 1981, but was later released following insufficient evidence. He has now been charged with Nova’s murder, more than three decades after she was killed. ,

He has sentenced to a 12 year imprisonment.

Nova’s mother, Lorna Welsh, said: “Finally after 36 long years, Nova can rest in peace. The family can now have closure knowing the person who took Nova's life has been brought to Justice. I would sincerely like to thank everyone involved in bringing this case to court.”

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