Woman suspected of having body in boot of car as leaking cough syrup mistaken for blood

Police were suspicious of a woman seen with “blood” dripping from her car boot – until they found it was a broken bottle of cough syrup. Grandmother-of-five Pat Major said she was shocked to be stopped by officers on suspicion of having a dead body in her car.

The 60-year-old was spotted by a bystander in an Asda car park stuffing something into her boot before driving off in a Nissan Micra. The shopper followed Mrs Major as she drove away in Newton Abbot, Devon, before spotting a red liquid leaking from the boot and calling 999.


Photo from SWNS.

Devon and Cornwall Police received a call from a woman on January 19. “It was initially reported to us by a lady who said she was following a car which, she said, appeared to have blood pouring from the boot,” a police spokesman said.

“The car pulled into an address in Newton Abbot and the occupant of the car got out and went inside.” When officers arrived at the property, they discovered the liquid was blackcurrant cough mixture and the blood-soaked body was squashed bags of shopping.