Woman, 24, found murdered in boot of car in Ilford pictured as cops believe she was killed by ‘someone known to her’
A WOMAN who was found murdered in the boot of a car has been identified and pictured with cops believing she was “attacked by someone known to her”.
The body of Harshita Brella, 24, was discovered inside a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford area of east London in the early hours of November 14.
The finding came after Northamptonshire Police received a call on November 13 regarding concerns for Harshita’s welfare.
Officers were deployed to her home address in Corby and after getting no answer launched a missing person investigation.
A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on November 15, established that Harshita had been murdered.
A murder investigation was then launched and police said Harshita may have been the victim of a “targeted incident”.
Senior Investigating Officer, DOI Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), 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 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.”
He continued: “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.”
Northamptonshire Police said officers are satisfied there is no wider risk to the public.
The force added extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days.
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.
Northamptonshire Police has also made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact between the Force and the victim.