Woman found dead in car parked outside police station
Mystery has surrounded the discovery of a woman’s body inside a car parked in front of a large police station for days.
Police found the body of a 48-year-old woman under a large blanket in the backseat of a Toyota Yaris parked outside Lake Illawarra Police Station at around 4.30pm on Friday.
Deputy Commissioner Joe Cassar told AAP the woman’s body was found in an advanced state of decomposition after enduring several days of severe heatwave conditions in the area.
“Unfortunately, it was left in the car for so long that it was exceptionally hot inside the car,” he said.
“It’s very, very sad.”
Police believe the woman came to the police station on Tuesday evening and spoke to police officers, but it is not yet known what she discussed with the officers.
“After spending some time in the station area, the lady left the foyer and got into the back seat of the vehicle,” Mr Cassar said.
The woman is believed to have been living inside her car, which was locked when she was found.
Mr Cassar said officers made the grim discovery after realizing the car had not been moved for several days.
He said the windows had a very dark tint, which was dirty and made it difficult to see inside the car.
“It wasn’t obvious there was a body there until (an officer) had to break the window… That’s when they discovered there was a body in the back seat,” Mr. Cassar said.
“If you were looking from the front of the car you wouldn’t notice it.”
Police will spend the coming days examining CCTV as part of their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In cases of police-involved deaths or serious injuries, a critical incident is also declared, triggering surveillance measures, including the involvement of detectives from a different command.
The investigation will also be subject to an independent review by the Professional Standards Command and oversight by the NSW police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Commission.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
