Diane Jones murder: Coggeshall woman's death unlikely to be solved, police say

The body of Diane Jones was found in Suffolk three months after she was reported missing from her Essex home

The 40-year-old murder of a pregnant woman is now unlikely to be solved following the death of the only named suspect, police said.

Diane Jones was last seen alive with her husband Dr Robert Jones as they left their local pub in Coggeshall, Essex, in July 1983.

Her body was found three months later on the A1093 road at Martlesham, Suffolk.

Dr Jones, the only named suspect in the case, died in France earlier this year.

Earlier this month Suffolk Police confirmed it had no other named suspects.

Suffolk police has been reviewing the case for the past three years and made inquiries in France about a potential murder weapon.

However, with the death of Dr Jones, the force said the cope of the investigation was now limited.

• Only named suspect in murder probe dies in France

• Detective hopes TV show reopens triple-murder case

• Police praise family's dignity in 1999 murder case

Mrs Jones and her husband had gone to the Woolpack pub and left at about 23:00 BST on 23 July 1983.

Police said the couple drove home and Mrs Jones was last seen at the front gate to their house after she got out of the car while Dr Jones parked it.

She was not reported missing by Dr Jones until nine days later. Essex Police investigated her disappearance.

Three months later on 22 October 1983 her body was discovered 30 miles away near to the A1093 in Martlesham.

A post-mortem examination found she died from a fractured skull.

The decomposing body of Mrs Jones was found in a copse next to the A1093

Andy Guy, who manages the cold case team, said: "We had been making some positive progress in the case of Diane's murder and were unearthing new information, even after all this time.

"The death of the suspect in this inquiry means it is unlikely we will be able to progress much further now, as we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this crime.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to reach the evidential threshold required for a prosecution for murder on two separate occasions."

He said the case would remain open and he appealed for anyone with more information who has not come forward to get in touch.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook and Instagram. Got a story? Email [e-mail] or get in touch via WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830