First picture of man found dead in suitcase after body discovered during teddy bear hunt

15 July 2026 , 10:15

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First picture of man found dead in suitcase after body discovered during teddy bear hunt

This is the first picture of a man found dead in a suitcase by shocked families on a teddy bear hunt.

Dale Mundell, 34, from Islington, was found in Borstal Recreation Ground, Kent on Friday.

The day before, police had been tipped off to a potential murder at a flat on Kingfisher Court in Wandsworth, more than 30 miles away.

Joshua Miller, 32, was charged with murder and preventing a lawful burial while Jamie Cooper, 27, was also charged with the same offence.

They appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court yesterday and have been remanded into custody.

Police say the victim and both men were known to each other.

A mother had been at the park attending a teddy bear hunt organised as a fundraiser for a local nursery when she saw flies emerging from the case.

She told KentOnline: ‘I saw the luggage before the police. I was with my niece and nephew, so I was busy keeping them from seeing it.

‘What I saw was the suitcase covered in hundreds of flies. I actually heard the buzzing from them first. I noticed that it was a large suitcase and had a snow sledge next to it.’

The day before, police had been tipped off to a potential murder at a flat on Kingfisher Court in Wandsworth, more than 30 miles away from Borstal Recreation Ground, Kent, where the discovery was made.

Mr Mundell and the two men charged were known to each other, the Met added.

Miller will next appear at Maidstone Crown Court on July 15.

Miller and Cooper will then both appear at the same court on August 10 for a plea hearing.

Sophia Martinez

World Affairs Correspondent