Woman found dead in car boot named as police launch murder investigation
A forensic postmortem examination on Friday established that Harshita had been murdered, ITV News' Graham Stothard reports
A woman found dead in the boot of a car in east London has been named by police as as 24-year-old Harshita Brella.
Detectives found her body after Northamptonshire Police received a call on Wednesday regarding concerns for Harshita’s welfare.
Officers were deployed to her home address in Skegness Walk, Corby, and after getting no answer, launched a missing person investigation.
Enquiries then led to the discovery of a woman's body in the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in Ilford in the early hours of Thursday.
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A forensic postmortem examination on Friday established that Harshita had been murdered.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), described Ms Brella as "a young woman in her early twenties with her whole life ahead of her" and added it "is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way".
“Detectives from EMSOU and Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place.
Local authorities are appealing for anybody with information about the incident, adding they believe Ms Brella was "attacked by someone known to her".
"We are keeping an open mind, and would appeal to anyone who knew her to contact us with any relevant information they may have.“
Police officers have said there is no wider risk to the public as a result of this incident, but that there would be extra patrols in Corby in the coming days for reassurance purposes.
They urged anybody with information to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 24000678713, to submit details via the online portal: mipp.police.uk, or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
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