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Boxing Day tragedy as woman is found dead

29/12/2004

DETECTIVES investigating the discovery of the body of a 32-year-old Newbold woman believe she could have been dead for up to two weeks.

The body of the mother of two was decomposed and she could not initially be formally identified.

Police officers made the horrific discovery after forcing their way into the terraced house in Sarah Butterworth Street shortly before 6.45pm on boxing day.

They had been called to the house by the mother of the dead woman, who was known only as Vicky to her neighbours.

A post-mortem examination carried out on Monday by a Home Office pathologist found no signs of injury that could have been caused by third parties.

The police treated the death as suspicious until Tuesday morning when the results of the autopsy were known. Medical experts were due to carry out toxicology tests later in the week, after the Observer went to press.

Crime scene detectives in white boiler suits carried out two detailed searches of the house.

A next-door neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the woman had lived at the house in the cul-de-sac for about a year. Her children did not live with her.

She said: "I only knew her as 'Vicky' and I didn't have much contact with her because she was quite a quiet girl.

"But it is a really bad thing to happen on this street, especially over Christmas. There were a lot of police around over the weekend."

She added: "Her mum used to come round all the time. She had been knocking on the door almost every day for the last two weeks, but no-one answered."

"Then she came round on boxing day and got no answer, so she called the police who came round and found out what had happened. It is terrible."

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "We are awaiting the results of a fingerprint test before we can formally identify the body.

"A post-mortem test was carried out and the body was found to be badly decomposed with no signs of any injuries inflicted by a third party."