New plans to make body desecration a criminal offence have been backed by the mother of murdered schoolgirl April Jones, who says her daughter is ‘still missing in the eyes of the law.’
April was only five when she was abducted and murdered by paedophile Mark Bridger at her home in Machynlleth, Wales in 2012. Bridgers, who is serving a life sentence for her murder, has never revealed what he did with her body.
Despite a major search operation, only minor bone fragments from April’s skull were found in Bridger’s home, in a fireplace. They were buried at her funeral.
April’s mother, Coral Jones, has since backed calls to establish a new criminal offence of ‘body desecration,’ and says she still longs for the opportunity to lay her daughter to rest in a grave.
At present, there is not an explicit offence of desecration of a dead body in England or Wales.
The Law Commission, who is currently reviewing laws surrounding offences against dead bodies, say criminal law does not ‘adequately deal’ with the desecration of a corpse.
It has identified several gaps in criminal law regarding the mistreatment of a deceased person’s body and has been tasked by the Government to review whether to create new offences.
Its concerns relate to both sexual and non-sexual offences toward corpses, such as intimate image abuse, mutilation and a killer’s refusal to provide the location of the victim’s body.
April pictured with mum Coral Jones, who said she can’t bring herself to visit her daughter’s grave knowing April’s body is not truly there
Mark Bridgers (picured) who abducted and murdered April was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
It seeks to modernise outdated laws surrounding desecration to protect the human dignity of the deceased, as well as ensure legal clarity and address gaps in how bodies are protected.
Ms Jones’ words were used in a Welsh Senedd debate on the topic on Wednesday, 28 January by Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell.
Quoting her, Mr Campbell said: ‘As she said, “My little girl is still missing in the eyes of the law.”
‘The funeral took place, but the coffin was almost empty. Inside were only a few small pieces of bone and some personal items that Coral placed there herself. There was no body to lay to rest, no real goodbye.’
He said Coral could not bring herself to visit April’s grave, knowing her daughter isn’t truly there.
Mr Campbell said: ‘Instead, she has created a garden at home, a place where she can feel close to her child, because the law cannot give her that peace.
‘She lives every day with the knowledge of what was done to her daughter’s body after death, knowledge that continues to haunt her. It shapes her grief and damages her health.
‘The offences that the daughter’s killer was convicted of do not reflect the true horror of what he did and Coral conveyed to me last night that she supports the creation of a new offence of desecrating a body, because while her daughter’s killer will never be released, others will be.
‘Families should not be forced to live with this added cruelty, unrecognised and unnamed in law. Now, Coral’s words are simple and devastating: “I still want to put April to rest properly.”‘
April (pictured) was only five when she was murdered at her home in Machynlleth, Wales in 2012
Court sketch of Mark Bridger as he appeared at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court accused of the abduction and murder of five-year-old April
April was abducted by Bridger while playing outside with her friend on the evening of 1 October 2012.
Her disappearance sparked the largest missing person search in UK police history, focused on approximately 650 areas near her hometown and involving 45 police forces from across the UK.
Bridger, who was 46 at the time, was arrested less than 24 hours after her disappearance, on 2 October.
He initially told police he ran April over while she was riding a bike with a friend, and that he did not recall disposing of her body because he was drunk.
However, his car showed no sign of experiencing a collision and April’s seven-year-old friend, who had been playing with her, said she willingly got in Bridger’s car.
A search of Bridger’s house then revealed April’s blood in his bathroom and living room.
Child pornography was also found on his computer, as well as Facebook pictures of April.
April’s (pictured) family appealed for Bridgers to reveal where her body was, however, Bridgers refused to reveal what he did with her body
Bridgers was tried in April 2013 at Mold Crown Court and found guilty of three charges – murder, abduction and unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body.
Judge John Griffith Williams said Bridgers sexually abused the schoolgirl before disposing of her body.
At the end of his trial, April’s family appealed for him to reveal where her body was, saying that they would find it hard to move on until they could recover it.
However, Bridgers refused to reveal what he did with her body. It is thought he burnt her remains and scattered her ashes across the countryside near his house.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, meaning he is not eligible for parole.
