Second body to be exhumed in care home 'poisoning' probe

Police probing seven deaths at an old people's home in Somerset said they would exhume a second body today as part of their investigation.

Detectives will exhume the body of Marion Alder, who died last July aged 79 at Parkfields Residential Care Home in Butleigh, near Glastonbury.

Last week, the body of Nellie "Mary" Pickford, who also died at the home last July aged 89, was exhumed from Glastonbury Cemetery and reburied after forensic experts carried out a post mortem and toxicology tests.

The investigation at Parkfields began after officials from the Commission of Social Care Inspection alerted police. The home was subsequently closed in March.

Detectives investigating the home have arrested and bailed a 45-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.

The pair have been identified in media reports as registered nurse Rachel Baker and her husband Leigh, a chef, who ran the home together.

The operation to exhume Alder's body from Butleigh Churchyard will begin at about midnight.

Police said they would follow the same process as was used with Pickford's exhumation when three Church of England vicars were at the scene and led prayers during the operation.

Alder moved to Butleigh with her husband, a local pharmacist, in 1987 and had lived there until her death, her family said in a statement.

"Marion was a proud grandmother of four and mother to a son and daughter. As a family, we miss her greatly," the statement said.

Detectives have indicated they will carry out one other exhumation in the next few weeks as part of what they said would be a "prolonged and complex" inquiry.