Merseyside Police are still trying to trace the whereabouts of 70 people as they work to identify the woman found dead in Stanley Park. It has been two months since a dog walker discovered the woman's body stuffed into a bin bag in the Walled Garden area of Stanley Park.
Victim's description and health conditions
The victim is aged between 60 and 80 years, approximately 5ft 2in tall and of slight build, with strawberry blonde hair and wearing a distinctive pink Nike t-shirt. Investigators later revealed she was malnourished and had ailments including osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and arthritis.
The investigating team said they had established a full DNA profile of the woman, but despite combing the national database, there was no match. Efforts to identify her through dental records have also been impossible because she had no top or bottom teeth.
Public reports and progress
A Merseyside Police spokesperson told the ECHO on Wednesday that enquiries into who the woman was and the wider murder probe remained ongoing. The force had been given 176 potential names from people concerned the victim might be someone they know.
Of those "concern for safety" reports, 106 people had been "located safe and well". The spokesperson said the number of located people was expected to rise daily.
Timeline and investigation
The woman's body was found on August 28. Police previously said she had been in the bag for a number of weeks. From speaking with people in the park and analysing hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, detectives narrowed the time period down to the first week of July.
Merseyside Police has not disclosed the woman's cause of death, previously saying this was for investigative reasons. An inquest, which has key parameters including who someone is and how they died, has not yet been formally opened.
Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson, from Merseyside's major incidents team, said the investigation was being supported by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Missing Persons UK Team. Previously asked if the force had widened the investigation 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."
Murder probe focus
The investigation is being treated as a murder probe. Speaking last month, Det Supt Wilson said the priority was first identifying who the victim was. 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."
