Homicide detectives were investigating after a young woman was found dead in Cranbourne in Melbourne’s south east on Sunday, but it looks like her death is being ruled as non-suspicious.
The 20-year-old woman’s body was found at a Roma Ave property at about 5:15pm, according to police, and a crime scene was established and worked through overnight.
The Herald Sun reported a blue Holden Cruze, said to be the woman’s car, was parked outside the home and appeared to have blood splatters on it along with a handprint on the boot.
According to the publication, footage caught by CCTV cameras at a neighbour’s place showed two people at the boot of the car just after 12.30pm on Sunday, when it was in the driveway.
At about 1.30pm, the car left the house. Close to 5pm, a silver Hyundai, which a neighbour claimed was previously parked in the garage, was moved to the front lawn. The woman was found dead shortly after and the Cruze returned to the home sometime after that.
A suitcase with a flight tag wrapped around its handle was also reportedly spotted on a bin in front of the home.
Multiple neighbours told The Herald Sun they had seen the woman’s partner argue with and yell at her before, with some claiming police had been called to the home in the past.
However, police have confirmed they are not currently treating the Cranbourne death as a homicide.
“This matter is not being treated as suspicious,” a Victoria police spokesperson told The Herald Sun.
Police are waiting for a post-mortem to determine the woman’s cause of death and are preparing a report for the coroner.
The woman’s death comes after 11 women have been killed in Australia in 2023, according to femicide researcher Sherele Moody. We’re only nine weeks into the year.
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