Police name young woman found dead in boot of car in London
Detectives fear a young woman found dead in a car boot in London 160km (100 miles) from home was killed by someone she knew.
Harshita Brella, 24, was discovered in the boot of car in Ilford, east London, after Northamptonshire Police was contacted on Wednesday by a member of the public concerned for the Brella’s welfare.
They found her home in Corby
They found her home in Corby, Northamptonshire, empty on Wednesday. Officers got no answer at her home in Skegness Walk and promptly launched a fast-track search for her.
This hunt led them to an empty car in east London where they discovered Brella’s body inside the boot.
Post-mortem examination
A post-mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary established that Brella had been murdered.
Northamptonshire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after they said officers had previous contact with Brella before she was killed. It is suspected the 24 year old tried to make a complaint but her cries fell on deaf ears.
Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell said: “First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella.
“She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way.
“Detectives are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place.”
Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell
Appealing for information
DCI Campbell is appealing for information about this incident to come forward. So far there have been a number of promising reports but the police need more.
He said: “Although we believe Harshita 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.
“If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Anyone who has any information that could help detectives bring Harshita’s killer to justice, is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 24000678713 or via an online portal: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).