Police have revealed that a woman found dead in a bin bag in a Liverpool park after several weeks was malnourished and had no teeth. The body was discovered in Stanley Park at the end of August, and officers have so far been unable to identify her.
Victim's health and appearance
Merseyside Police released new details about the victim, who is thought to be aged between 60 and 80. She is believed to have been around 5ft 2in tall and of slight build, with strawberry blonde hair, and was wearing a distinctive pink Nike t-shirt.
Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson, head of the force's major incident team, said investigators had widened the potential age range in a bid to identify her. She said: "We now have a full DNA profile of the woman. We've put that into the national database, but unfortunately she's not on the police database. We now know she had a number of ailments...she suffered with osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and arthritis."
Det Supt Wilson added: "We also think she was malnourished. Whether that is through neglect or through her age, we're not sure. This woman has some vulnerabilities." She also noted the victim had no teeth, top or bottom, saying: "And I mention that because lots of people have referred to dental records but unfortunately we're not able to with her having no teeth."
Investigation timeline and appeal
The woman's body was found on August 28 after the bin bag was spotted by a dog walker. Police previously said the woman had been in the bin bag for a number of weeks. From speaking with people in the park and analysing hundreds of hours of CCTV, detectives believe they have narrowed the time period down to the first week of July, Det Supt Wilson added.
Merseyside Police has not disclosed the woman's cause of death, previously saying this was for investigative reasons. Det Supt Wilson said the investigation team had been provided with the names of 126 women as potential victims, but have been able to eliminate them from the probe. The force is being supported by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Missing Persons UK Team.
Asked if this proved the force had opened up the probe outside the Merseyside area, she said: "We've got to keep an open mind... we've focused our attention on the immediate area around the park, but we're not going to discount anything further afield. It's always beneficial to us to utilise our partners in case they've got someone who matches that description."
The investigation is being treated as a murder probe. However, Det Supt Wilson said the force's first priority is to identify who the victim is. "It's always about the victim," she said. "That's our focus, but that doesn't mean we stop the work on the offender. But I do think the victim will lead us to the offender once we identify who she is."
Appealing to anyone who could have information, she said: "We're all determined to establish who she is, how she's died and why. If anyone has got concerns about a friend, a neighbour, you might be the local postman or someone in the medical profession. However small, please contact us."
