Ellen Higginbottom: Second post-mortem

The 18-year-old’s violent death sparked a murder inquiry after her remains were found by police conducting a search for the missing teen at Orrell Water Park last month.

An inquest has already opened but coroner Jennifer Leeming has so far withheld the body.

Second autopsies are often undertaken in murder cases so that a defendant’s legal team can get a second medical opinion, although the reason one has taken place in Ellen’s instance has not been made public.

Mark Steven Buckley, 51, of Preston, has been charged with the Winstanley College teenager’s murder. Currently remanded in custody, he will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 4.