Crime

'Wolverine' Killer Found Dead in the Woods After Slaughtering His Family

A massive manhunt in the English countryside for Jed Allen ended with the discovery of a body

Published on May 26, 2015 07:25 AM

The body of a man suspected to be Jed Allen, a British 21-year-old obsessed with the comic book character Wolverine, was found in the woods near Oxford, police said Monday.

Allen was at the center of a manhunt in the English countryside for more than two days after several members of his family were found dead on Saturday.

Thames Valley Police say his body was located in woodland in Oxford, the BBC reported in the late afternoon U.K. time on Monday.

Detectives were searching for Allen, a former Oxford University groundsman, after the bodies of his half sister Derrin Jordon, 6, his mother Janet Jordon, 48, and his mother’s partner Philip Howard, 44, were discovered in their Didcot home. The three are believed to have died from knife wounds.

The body was found in a “wooded area” in Marsden Road, Oxford by a member of the public at about 5 p.m. U.K. time, Thames Valley police said. It is an area that had not previously been searched by police.

A police spokesman said that while no formal identification has taken place, detectives are “satisfied” it is the body of Allen.

Members of the families have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the offense.

Autopsies have yet to take place but it was initially thought by police that the family members died of stab wounds.

Floral tributes had been left at the house in Vicarage Road, Didcot, with one saying, “I love you all so much, Jan, Phil and my Dezzy Doo,” BBC News reports.

In a statement issued Monday, Det. Supt. Chris Ward, head of the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said, “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the families of Janet, Philip and Derrin.”

He reassured the public at the time that more than 100 police officers were continuing their inquiries and conducting searches in a number of areas in Oxford and Didcot. They spent part of Sunday combing the 70-acre Oxford University Parks for clues.

British newspapers have run photos of Allen holding an axe, while his Instagram account is said to be titled Meat Tank and underlines his love of comic book characters.

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