Neil Dovestone

David Lytton (21 April 1948 – 11 or 12 December 2015), formerly known as David Keith Lautenberg and after the discovery of his body by the placeholder name Neil Dovestone, was a previously unidentified British man found dead on Saddleworth Moor, in the South Pennines of Northern England on 12 December 2015. The placeholder name was reportedly devised by mortuary attendants at Royal Oldham Hospital, with reference to the location the body was found near Dove Stone Reservoir, on an asphalt track in the Chew Valley.

Mystery body The man later identified as Lytton died from a lethal dose of strychnine, and is believed by police to have died by suicide. He was estimated to be between 65 and 75 years old and was almost tall, with a thin build; he was balding with grey hair and brown eyes.

Signs that the man had been in Pakistan not long before his death included a titanium surgical plate, only available legally in Pakistan, attached to his left femur near the hip, and a container used to carry the strychnine, originally used for a common medication (thyroxine), had a printed label with text in English and Urdu.

Identification and following investigation

In January 2017 the body was identified as 67-year-old David Lytton, a former resident of London, who had flown into Heathrow Airport from Lahore in Pakistan on 10 December 2015. He was identified from photographs from a passenger list and images from CCTV in London. Greater Manchester Police confirmed his identity using DNA matching, characterising him as "a bit of a loner" who "liked his own company". Several witnesses subsequently described Lytton as living a minimalist lifestyle and reinforced the impression that he enjoyed living alone and keeping to himself. Similarly, Salim Aktar, a close friend of Lytton for more than 30 years, did not know that Lytton had a girlfriend, Maureen Toogood.

Lytton had lived in Streatham, south London, from the 1980s until he moved to Pakistan in 2006. Former neighbours said he was a croupier who had once worked as a train driver for London Underground and after being made redundant from the casino had taken in lodgers, one of whom was of Pakistani appearance. The article reproduced personal information from Lytton's passport, showing a London birthplace and a birth date of 21 April 1948. The passport was issued on 8 September 2006 and would expire on 8 September 2016. The article reported that Lytton had arrived in Lahore on 6 October 2006, leaving almost six months later for Dubai. He returned to Lahore after four days, on 31 March 2007. The following November he left again, but there was no record of his returning. (His change of name explained previous reports that no one named David Lytton had been born in London on 21 April 1948.) On 9 February The Guardian gave his former name as David Lautenberg and revealed that he had family living in England, including a brother living in North London. His parents were also identified as Sylvia and Hyman Lautenberg. According to the BBC, Lytton and Toogood met in 1968 when Lytton worked as a croupier in Mayfair. He had recently left Leeds University where he had studied psychology and sociology but did not graduate. He held different jobs later on and his last employment in London was as a train driver for London Underground. Lytton and Toogood became a couple and conceived a child but Toogood had a miscarriage which Lytton did not take well. They separated at some point and Toogood married someone else, but they stayed in touch, and Toogood visited Lytton regularly and helped around the house. police reported that Lytton had repeated visa problems while living in Pakistan. His visa expired and he attempted to leave the country with a manipulated visa and got caught which resulted in him getting blacklisted. He eventually obtained a new visa that was about to expire in late 2015 when he was travelling to London, meaning it was his last chance to leave legally without having to reapply. Lytton's brother, Jeremy Lawton, reported he had not been in contact with his brother for over a decade, but believed he was living in the United States after receiving several letters he had posted from there. Lytton's long-time friend, Salim Aktar, said that they had travelled to Pakistan together three times. He was the friend who Lytton had asked to pick him up at the airport upon his return.

In 2020 it was speculated that Lytton's interest in the area of Oldham was due to poster advertising in London's public transportation which he must have often seen for years while working as a train driver.

Maureen Toogood was recovering from a stroke at the time of Lytton's identification and died in 2020.