London  - British police are investigating a mysterious crime after the discovery of several parts from the same body in different parts of the country in what has been described as a "macabre jigsaw puzzle."

Police in county of Leicestershire, in central England, confirmed Friday that a human head found in a field comes from the same body as an arm and a leg found dumped further south earlier.

The male's head was found on Tuesday of this week while the arm was found on 22 March and the leg a week later in Hertfordshire, north of London.

The parts had been "forensically linked" with the other body parts, police said. The cause of death and the man's name had not yet been determined.

"At this stage no speculation can be made about how this man was murdered," said Inspector Michael Hanlon of Leicestershire police. (dpa)