Woman found dead in Sheldon Country Park was strangled

Nov 2 2010 by Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

A WOMAN found dead in a Birmingham country park was strangled, the Birmingham Mail can reveal.

West Midlands Police said detectives have launched a murder inquiry following a post-mortem examination yesterday.

But, more than 48 hours after the grim discovery was made by a dog walker, officers were still no closer to finding out who she was.

All that was known about her was that she was white, probably in her 30s and had auburn shoulder-length hair, was 6ft tall and had a tattoo on her hand.

The woman had no forms of identification and was not wearing any jewellery when she was found in a brook at Sheldon Country Park. She is thought to have lain there less than one day

A force spokesman said: “The death is certainly being treated as suspicious and it will be a murder investigation. The key thing now is to identify this woman.”

Police said they were concerned no-one had yet reported as missing anyone matching her description.

Checks on missing persons records had also failed to provide a breakthrough in her identity. The area was sealed off throughout the weekend after the woman’s body was discovered at 12.45pm on Saturday.

A blue police tent could be seen among the trees close to the spot where the corpse was found while police carried out a search for evidence.