Cremated man’s identity remains a mystery

MYSTERY man David Harrison was found to actually be John Delaney, who his family thought they had cremated.

POLICE have admitted they may never uncover the identity of a body connected to Oldham’s mystery man case.

John Renehan thought he had cremated his father John Delaney in 2003 — but five years later it was discovered he was actually in an Oldham care home when staff appealed for information on who their mystery resident was.

Detectives have spent 18 months trying to uncover the name of the remains that were wrongly cremated but have now shelved the case.

It has left Mr Renehan (44), from Didsbury, upset, saying it preys on his mind who the person was that he cremated and that police could have done more to solve the case.

He’s disappointed the person’s family will never know what happened and fears they may wrongly believe that a missing loved one could still return. He is suing Greater Manchester Police over the blunder.

Mr Delaney went missing in 2000 but when a badly decomposed body was found in the bushes at Manchester Royal Infirmary three years later, police believed it was him.

The corpse had similar clothes and old wounds and a coroner confirmed the identification, leaving Mr Renehan and family to grieve and pay for a cremation and wake.

But it was a case of mistaken identity.

The 71-year-old had in fact been in an Oldham care home for eight years after being found wandering dazed and confused in Copster Hill Road.

He had suffered total memory loss and was unable to hold a proper conversation after receiving a blow to the head ten days earlier.

In February, 2008, the Evening Chronicle reported that Oldham Council was appealing for help in uncovering the identity of a man that care staff had named David Harrison.

His case was featured on a TV programme about missing persons two months later when a watching Mr Renehan was shocked to recognise his dad.

DNA tests confirmed the identity and the pair had an emotional reunion.

A police file will remain open in case new information comes to light but it is no longer being actively investigated.

Det Chief Insp Peter Marsh said: “Since we launched our investigation, we have carried out extensive inquiries to try and identify this man.

“Unfortunately, these inquiries have been unable to establish his identity. The site cannot be excavated because all the surface earth has been moved for a building project, the clothing found on the body had been routinely disposed of and the body had been cremated so there is no DNA to work from.

“All of this was routine, standard procedure as no crime had been committed. Sadly, this is an incredibly difficult case that might never be solved without some extra evidence.

“However, we will never close the case because there is a family out there who may have lost a father, husband, brother or son and if we can identify this man then it could give that grieving family some peace of mind.”