THE boyfriend of a Slaithwaite woman who tragically died on holiday is also in hospital.
As the Examiner reported yesterday, 30-year-old Hazel Woodhams died while on holiday in Norfolk, it is suspected from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Now it has been confirmed her boyfriend Roland Wessling, who shares her terraced home in Slaithwaite, is in hospital.
The 40-year-old forensic archaeologist is said to be in a stable condition at the James Paget Hospital in Norfolk.
Mr Wessling is a research fellow in forensic archaeology and anthropology at Cranfield University. His area of interest has led him to work on the conservation of a remains project in Rwanda.
His girlfriend had been a scenes of crime officer with West Yorkshire Police for three years.
She tragically died on Tuesday in a tent at Clippesby Holiday Park near Great Yarmouth. It is believed she inhaled carbon monoxide fumes from a barbecue.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We are sad to learn of Hazel’s tragic death and our thoughts are with her friends and family at this time.
“She had held the position of scenes of crime officer for three years.”
Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ms Woodhams’ death.
Initial post-mortem results proved inconclusive and further toxicology tests will now be carried out. However, symptoms and current results suggest cause of death is likely to be carbon monoxide poisoning.
Members of Ms Woodhams’ family have been informed and they are currently being supported by specially trained officers.
Mr Wessling had been working at Cranfield University since 2008. He is thought to be from Hamburg in Germany.
He studied physics and astronomy in the early 1990s after completing his officer’s training in the German Military Police Force.
He has been involved in the delivery of training and exercising in disaster victim identification for UK police forces, working as a forensic archaeologist on international atrocity crime investigations in Bosnia, Croatia, Iraq, Cyprus and France as well as working on domestic crime cases in the UK and Germany.
Most recently, he was one of the two senior archaeologists of the team that excavated 250 British and Australian Soldiers from World War One in Fromelles, France.
Detective Inspector Marie James, Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, said: “This appears to be a tragic accident, whilst the outcome of the investigation is not yet known and will be confirmed when we have the results of the toxicology.
“I would like to take this opportunity to warn other campers about the risks of having charcoal barbecues within an enclosed space.
“Our advice would be to only use and store them in open areas where they should not cause any difficulties.”
