A woman in her 50s was found dead in a locked alleyway in Oxton, Wirral, early on Saturday morning. Merseyside Police have arrested a 61-year-old man in connection with her death; he has been released on conditional bail.
Discovery and Arrest
Police arrived in the area of Arno Road early on Friday evening following a report of concerns for safety, but the woman was not found until hours later. She was taken to hospital but died later that day.
The force confirmed the arrest on Monday. A postmortem investigation has been carried out to establish the cause of death, which has been withheld pending further enquiries.
Residents' Shock
When the ECHO visited Arno Road on Monday afternoon, a police presence remained, with the gate to the alleyway still cordoned off. Residents expressed shock that someone had been found dead so close to their homes.
One resident in Belfield Drive, where houses back onto the alleyway, said she believed the deceased woman was not from the area but from elsewhere in Wirral. She said: "I think she lives elsewhere in the Wirral. We have no idea how she will have got into that alleyway, it has a gate that is locked and you can't get into it unless you have a key."
Ongoing Investigation
Another resident in Belfield Drive added: "It is just so dreadful. We found out on Saturday that someone had died there. It is a very narrow alleyway and there is no public access, it has a locked gate at the end, so we don't know what has happened."
A resident in Woodchurch Road, which adjoins Arno Road, said he would usually have access to the alley but had been told police could be there investigating for as long as a week. He said: "I came out of my house and saw my wheely bin covered in police tape. They said they might be there all week. To get into that alley you would have to climb over the wall."
The family of the woman are being supported by specialist officers.
