By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A WOMAN found dead in Doveton appeared to have been assaulted with an “edged weapon”, police say.
Police combed Eumemmering Creek on Wednesday after the body was discovered underneath a tree in Lace Street, Doveton about 7am by factory employees who work in the industrial area.
Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen McIntyre from the Homicide Squad said the woman had sustained cuts to her upper body from what appeared to be a “struggle on the roadway”.
“The girl appears to have been assaulted and at this stage we’re treating it as a homicide,” he said.
“She’s got some significant injuries to the upper body, we believe there was probably an edged weapon used in it, but what type and how many injuries she’s actually got we won’t know until a post mortem’s conducted later on.”
Detectives are appealing for information in relation to the incident which is thought to have occurred any time from 5pm yesterday.
Police were yet to identify the dark-haired woman but Det McIntyre said she was aged between her late teens and mid-twenties and did not appear to have been carrying any personal items.
“She’s wearing dark-coloured shorts and a dark-coloured long-sleeved T-shirt,” he said.
“We don’t know whether she was carrying anything else with her.
“She had been wearing a pair of white coloured slip-on shoes; those have been recovered from within the scene.
“At this point in time we don’t know what type of weapon has been used.”
Police extended the crime scene on Wednesday to take in Eumemmering Creek at the end of Lace Street, discovering some discarded clothing in the process.
But Det McIntrye said police had not determined whether the clothing was linked to the discovery of the body.
SES crews were also on deck to assist police with a line search around the creek.
Det McIntrye said police were scouring CCTV footage and missing persons reports for any clues in relation to the body, but were yet to discover anything significant.
“We don’t know what direction the girl may have come from,” he said.
“She may have come from across the river or from a vehicle. These are the sort of things we do not know at this point in time.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
