Saddleworth Moor: True identity of man found dead revealed as it emerges he changed name after family feud

CCTV footage: David Lytton was seen on camera at Manchester Piccadilly train station
PA
Francesca Gillett10 February 2017

The true identity of a mystery man found dead on Saddleworth Moor has been revealed as it emerged he changed his name after a family feud.

Former London Tube driver David Lytton was formally identified last week after his death in December 2015 sparked a police investigation lasting over a year.

Although large parts of his life still remain a mystery, it has been learnt the 67-year-old Londoner changed his name from David Lautenberg.

His family are thought to have been refugees of Jewish descent who came to England in 1901, the Guardian reported. Mr Lytton is believed to have lived in a house shared with other families in Oxford Gardens, Kensington.

Mr Lytton’s mother and younger brother, Jeremy, also changed their surnames.

CCTV image: Greater Manchester Police released CCTV footage of David Lytton at Ealing Broadway station
PA

His former neighbour, Peter Dias, told the Guardian: “I did suspect that he [Lytton] had a different name. It does not shock me that he would have changed his name. Everything about him was a bit of a mystery.

“He was very good at hiding stuff and he did not want the world to know his business and I guess changing his name was another element of this secrecy. I do still feel really sad about the whole thing.”

The discovery of Mr Lytton’s body on the hillside in Greater Manchester, led to public speculation after no one came forward to identify him.

He is believed to have died from strychnine poisoning, a chemical banned in the UK but available in countries such as Pakistan where Mr Lytton had previously visited.

He flew back to London on December 10, 2015, and the next day walked into a pub asking for directions to the top of the Indian’s Head peak on Saddleworth Moor.

Despite several public appeals and CCTV footage, his name remained unknown until recently when DNA was used to track down his relatives.

Mr Lytton's brother said he was not speaking to the press because he was helping with a Channel 4 documentary on the disappearance.

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