A 26-year-old man who died in a suspected murder during a summer solstice event at a Bronze Age stone circle has been named by police as Isaac Clare-Watts, from Nottingham. He was found at the Nine Ladies stone circle in Stanton Lees in the Peak District in Derbyshire at about 1.38pm on Monday.
Arrest and investigation
A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody, Derbyshire police said. Detective Inspector Tony Owen from the East Midlands special operations unit, who is leading the investigation, described the killing as brutal. Police have said “a young man’s life has been taken in the most brutal way”.
The Derby Mountain Rescue team, which assisted East Midlands ambulance service at the scene, said in a Facebook statement: “Our thoughts are with the man’s friends and family at this difficult time.”
Appeal for witnesses
Officers have said a number of people were in the area over the weekend for the summer solstice and are urging anyone who was there between 19 and 23 June, and anyone who has any video footage from the event during the same time period, to come forward. The force is also asking anyone with dashcam footage of vehicles arriving and leaving over the weekend to contact officers.
DI Owen said: “I am urgently appealing for anyone who attended the summer solstice event over the weekend to please speak to officers as soon as they can. A young man’s life has been taken in the most brutal way, so it is vital that myself and the team build up a clear picture of the exact circumstances surrounding his death. This is why we urgently need to speak to everyone who was at the scene over the weekend. You may have only been there briefly and think you can’t help, but you could hold the key piece of information we need to understand what has happened and help us to get justice for this young man’s family. So I would ask, please, that if you attended the event, you contact us urgently so we can build up a picture of the event itself and what has led to this man’s death.”
Owen added: “I also really urge anyone who captured video footage from the event over the weekend to please come forward.”
Background on Nine Ladies stone circle
According to English Heritage, Nine Ladies is a small early Bronze Age stone circle “traditionally believed to depict nine ladies turned to stone as a penalty for dancing on Sunday”. The site is a popular gathering place for solstice celebrations.
