Lancashire police have confirmed that the body found in the River Wyre, one kilometer from the town of St. Michael’s on Wyre in north-west England, is that of Nicola Bulley, the Englishwoman who disappeared on January 27 while walking with her dog Willow after dropping off her two daughters, ages six and ten, at school.
Deputy Commissioner Peter Lawson confirmed the identification of the body, one day after it was discovered by two walkers on the banks of the river and after 23 days of unsuccessful search. “The family has been informed and they are devastated,” Lawson wrote. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones and with his closest community.”
“The conclusion is not what we would have wanted, but we hope it will at least provide some answers to Nicola’s loved ones,” Lawson concluded. “The case now remains in the hands of the coroner.”
The role of the Police has, however, been called into question, after the dissemination of information about the private life of Nicola Bulley -from her problems with alcohol to the difficulties during perimenopause- which even forced the personal intervention of the secretary of Interior, Suella Braverman, criticizing the intrusion and “sexism” of the police investigation.
Lancashire police have also been harshly questioned for their negligence in finding Bulley’s body, after using divers, drones and helicopters to search the area for more than three weeks and after suspicions that he may have tried to kill himself by jumping into the river.
The body of the mortgage adviser finally appeared a little more than a kilometer from where her dog and her mobile phone were found abandoned on a bank, probably washed away by the current of the River Wyre.
The family also lashed out hard at the media in a final statement, especially over speculation about the role of Peter Faulding, the victim’s partner and father of her daughters: “The girls will have all the support they need from the people they love the most. But it saddens us to think that one day we will have to explain to them how the media vilified and manipulated their friends and family. It is shameful how they have acted. We hope they will leave us alone now.”
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