Bluewater murder: Townsville mother identified as victim

A Townsville mother of four has been identified as the victim of a violent murder after her body was found by teenagers in bushland Saturday evening.

A TOWNSVILLE mother of four has been identified as the victim of a violent murder after her body was found by teenagers in bushland Saturday evening.

The woman, who cannot be identified as police are still informing her family, was the mother to four children aged between 14 and 24 who do not reside within Townsville.

Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd said the body was found in the late afternoon on Saturday by a group of teens.

“At about 4.40pm yesterday afternoon, some young teenagers were driving quadbikes on a sandy path off Jaloonda road, at that time they found the body of a woman laying on the track,” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

The teens provided police with statements last night after one of the teens contacted his father, who then alerted police.

“We took statements last night and obviously, they were quite shaken up by it,” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

A forensic assessment of the body and the crime scene is continuing this morning, but police have already established that a weapon was involved in the killing and are investigating the matter as a homicide.

The weapon has not yet been located.

“At this stage, we believe the body had been (left) on the track at some point in the previous 24 hours,” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

“She is a 44-year-old Townsville woman. We’re ensuring we contact all her next-of-kin.

“We believe that she has died at that location. To allay any public fears, we are keeping an open mind, but the early indications suggest that she knew her attacker. This doesn’t appear to be a random attack on a stranger. They probably went to that location together.”

Detective Inspector Shepherd said police did not currently have a suspect and were trying to ascertain the 44-year-old’s movements over the previous week, as they had yet to narrow down a set address for the woman, who had moved recently.

“It is a small fishing village there, it is quite isolated, but there are vehicles that move up and down that road, so it’s possible there are witnesses.”

Detective Inspector Shepherd said police had not yet identified a suspect, and weren’t sure if they were looking for a single perpetrator or multiple.

“It’s difficult to say at the moment, certainly from looking at the scene, there doesn’t appear to be any attempt made to conceal the body, it would have been easy for anyone going along that track to see her,” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

“I can’t detail a cause of death, but we do have an idea of how it may have occurred, an autopsy will be carried out early in the week.”

The crime scene is expected to remain in place until the end of Sunday.

“We have set up another operation, it’s based here in Townsville and it’s under the name of Uniform Umbara,” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

Acting Inspector Jason Shepherd has revealed more details about a murder in Bluewater over weekend. Picture: Leighton Smith

“This woman does have four children ageing from 14 – 24, we’ve been in touch with them, but none of them reside locally. I didn’t speak to them personally, but you can imagine they’d be pretty traumatised.”

Detective Inspector Shepherd said police did not believe the matter involved domestic or family violence.

“Due to the nature of this incident and the location of the person she was previously involved with, we don’t believe this is a matter of domestic or family violence on this occasion.”

Bluewater crime scene declared as police investigate woman’s death

Police are investigating the sudden death of a woman after her body was found in bushland in Townsville.

Officers were working late into the night Saturday at a remote crime scene in Bluewater.

Little is known about the woman but police were reportedly called out to rural scrubland down a gravel track off Jaloonda Rd, about 26km outside of the Townsville CBD, after a passing fisherman discovered a body.

Queensland police are investigating the death of a woman in Bluewater after a body was found. Picture Daniel Shirkie

A crime scene was declared and members of the public were turned away as police extended a cordon a few hundred metres down the stretch of dusty, gravel road that sits just a few hundred metres from rural houses in the outer Townsville suburb.

While the remote section of road is not a main road, a number of houses do sit at either end, and motorists were instructed to turn around rather than risk disturbing the cordoned-off area.

The woman’s body was found in nearby bushland just off the road at about 5pm, and forensic and investigative units were seen entering the crime scene shortly before nightfall.

Police at the scene were unable to provide any further details about the death.

The woman’s remains were still at the scene late Saturday night and police are set to address media in Townsville on Sunday.

The woman’s age, identity, and residency are yet to be determined and a cause of death has not been revealed.

Queensland Police are appealing for anyone with relevant information to come forward.

They are also asking for nearby residents and passing motorists to provide CCTV and dashcam in and around Jaloonda street in the 48 hours before Saturday night.

Originally published as Bluewater murder: Townsville mother identified as victim