Australia: Police launch murder investigation — body turns out to be a sex doll
Travelers opened a suitcase abandoned on the side of the road and discovered what appeared to be a woman's body, and homicide detectives were scrambled from Sydney. Almost a day later, forensic tests determined that it was not a human but a doll. The district commander defended her officers' conduct: "There are no regrets here."
An abandoned suitcase found yesterday (Sunday) on the side of a dirt road in the south of the state of New South Wales in Australia, about 254 km southwest of Sydney, led to a murder investigation that lasted almost a day, until forensic tests determined today (Monday) that it did not contain a body but a human-like doll. According to police sources quoted by the Australian ABC network, it is a sex doll.
Two travelers who were in the area during a weekend trip encountered the suitcase at noon, opened it, and discovered what they believed to be a woman's body in a state of decomposition. The police officers who were called to the scene thought the same, cordoned off the area, and called in homicide detectives from Sydney, while at the same time the police began reviewing missing persons files.
In a statement released later in the day, the New South Wales Police stated that after forensic tests, it was confirmed that the object found in the suitcase was a human-like doll, dressed, with hair and a nose piercing, and on its body were marks that looked like bruises and abrasions. The police announced that the investigation was closed.
District Commander Linda Bradbury provided the update at a press conference today, saying she had received the test results only a quarter of an hour earlier:
"We have received positive news. The remains found have now been identified as non-human. This is good news, there is no case here of a suspicious death of a person."
Bradbury added that the find "was mistaken for a person at first, it is very realistic in the sense of looking like human remains." The Australian ABC network reported from police sources that it is a sex doll.
Bradbury defended her officers' conduct. "We acted according to procedures at a high level, and in my opinion, there are no regrets here," she said, explaining that the police refrain from moving findings from their place to maintain the integrity of the investigation, especially when the weather is stormy as it was in the area yesterday and today.
According to her, forensic investigators did examine the find at the scene yesterday, but only after the suitcase was seized and sent for laboratory testing did it become clear that it was not a person.
Police noted that the two travelers who located the suitcase "made the right decision" when they reported it to the authorities. "They really thought at first that they had encountered human remains," Bradbury said, "they were shocked yesterday, and we will contact them to inform them that these were not human remains."
