Village dug up in hunt for body of woman murdered by husband 18 years ago

A tip off has led police to dig up parts of a Surrey village in the hunt for the body of a woman murdered by her husband 18 years ago.

Police, specialist forensic officers and the Army are involved in the search in Priest Lane, Bisley, which is three miles from the farm Tina Baker shared with ex-SAS soldier Martin Gerald Baker when she disappeared.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years in 2006 after being convicted at the Old Bailey of her murder, but her body was never found.

Mrs Baker was reported missing in July 2002 and the investigation became a murder enquiry three months later. Detectives at the time believed the 41-year-old’s body may have been fed to the pigs at the couple’s farm in Chobham.

Surrey Police confirmed today that the fresh dig on the border between Woking and Surrey Heath boroughs comes following a tip-off.

However, they refused to give any further information about where the new information came from.

Detective Inspector Chris Rambour, from the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: ‘The investigative work around Tina Baker’s death has continued since 2006 and we have received information which has resulted in our decision to carry out further investigation at this location in Bisley.

‘We will be doing this in conjunction with our local partners, including Surrey Heath Borough Council, and with assistance from the British Army.

‘We wanted to make local residents aware of the reasons for the increased police presence in the area and apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

‘However, it is extremely important to us that we do everything we can to provide answers and closure for Tina’s family and friends, and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.’

Jurors at Mr Baker’s trial were told he feared losing the couple’s 14-acre Brookfield Farm after his wife walked out on him a month before she vanished.

Officers trawled through pig swill and manure after Baker’s first wife told them he had threatened to feed her to the pigs before their divorce.

Baker lost an appeal against his conviction in 2008.

Surrey Police continued with the investigation following the conviction in order to determine what happened to Mrs Baker.

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