Gwent Police confirm remains found in woodland were those of murdered Sandie Bowen
Published: 00:00, 09 March 2017
Updated: 12:47, 09 March 2017
Remains of a woman who was murdered 20 years ago are confirmed to be those of Sandie Bowen.
Mrs Bowen went missing from her home in South Wales in August 1997 where she was last thought to have boarded a train to Folkestone where her daughter Anita Giles lives.
The discovery of her remains was made on Friday, February 3 at Wentwood Reservoir in South Wales.
Her husband Michael Bowen was jailed for her murder, despite never admitting exactly what happened or where her body was.
But today, Gwent Police have confirmed the suspicions of the murder mystery which has been ongoing for two decades.
It was reported that he murdered her in a jealous rage after learning that she was having an affair, before dumping her body in the Wentwood forest.
He was released from prison in 2015 but has never revealed the location of his wife's body.
Mrs Bowen's daughter Ms Giles has repeatedly appealed for Bowen to reveal more information.
She told the KM Group in 2002: "He has finally admitted his involvement, but he still isn't telling the true story about what happened.
"I don't know why he's finally decided to say something.
"Maybe he's found his conscience, maybe he feels guilty for me and my children."
He claimed the last sighting of his wife was on that summer's day when he dropped her off at Newport Station.
A Gwent Police statement said: On February 1, 2017, following information received from members of the public, we recovered the remains of a deceased woman from the edge of the reservoir at Wentwood.
"A post-mortem examination of the body has since been carried out and forensic analysis of a sample of DNA which was extracted from the bones have confirmed that the body is that of Sandra Bowen who disappeared from her home in Llandogo in Monmouthshire in August 1997.
"In 1998, her husband, Michael Raymond Bowen was convicted of her murder and was given a life sentence.
"Sandra’s family been notified of the result of the DNA analysis and specialist officers are offering support to them."
More by this author
Victoria Chessum