West Footscray woman charged with murder after female body found in Maribyrnong River

A 49-year-old West Footscray woman has been charged with murder, and police have questioned a teenage boy, after a woman’s body was found in the Maribyrnong River.

A 49-year-old West Footscray woman has been charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found in the Maribyrnong River.

The murder charge came as a 15-year-old boy was also questioned by police over the incident but released without charge.

A passerby made the grim discovery of the woman’s badly bruised body, with a bag over her head and her legs tied, floating in the river on Sunday morning.

Detectives arrested the West Footscray woman on Tuesday afternoon.

She was charged with murder later that day.

A woman’s body was found in the Maribyrnong River at Flemington on Sunday. Picture: Tony Gough

The alleged murder victim has not yet been formally identified.

Detectives are continuing their investigations into a man whose body was found floating about 2km away from the deceased woman half an hour earlier.

The two cases are not linked and the man’s death is not being treated as suspicious, police say.

The West Footscray woman will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Investigators would like speak to anyone who has CCTV or dash-cam footage from the areas around Glamis Rd in West Footscray or Smithfield Rd, Flemington near Lynch’s Bridge, between 12pm on Friday, July 12 and 10.30am on Sunday, July 14.

Police are also keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in those areas during that time.

Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Discovery of bodies unrelated, police say

On Sunday police said they were treating the discovery of the woman’s body as suspicious.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were speaking with the woman’s loved ones after a passer-by discovered her floating in the river in Flemington on Sunday.

Homicide Squad detectives are now investigating her death, which police do not believe is linked to the discovery of a man’s body in the river about half an hour earlier.

He was located almost 2km away from the woman’s badly bruised body.

Investigators have not yet formally identified the man, but do not believe his death is suspicious.

Police divers were back the scene where the woman’s body was discovered on Sunday morning.

Police say the deaths of two people found floating in the Maribyrnong River are unrelated.

A team of officers was stationed at a pontoon on the southern bank of the Maribyrnong River, across the river from Flemington Racecourse.

Officers were seen walking along the rocks before two donned scuba suits and went underwater.

Water Police were also seen cordoning off the river in a boat further upstream.

Fisherman, including the man who discovered the body yesterday, returned to the area to cast lines on the bank of the river on Monday morning.

Braving the blustery, rainy conditions this afternoon, the man who made the grim discovery on Sunday said he came back to say a prayer for the woman and fish with a mate.

The Flemington man who stumbled across the woman’s body has been left shaken by the ordeal.

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he had come to fish along the river bank when he noticed rubbish floating by his line.

“I went there to go fishing, set up my stuff and saw rubbish bags,” he said.

“Her head was covered in blue material.”

He said the woman’s face was covered in rags with plastic garbage bags at her feet.

He added that she was wearing a white top with black pants.

“I went closer and thought it was just a dummy – hoped it was just a dummy,” he said.

The man said he noticed significant bruising along the woman’s left arm.

Police are working to determine if the deaths are suspicious. Picture: Tony Gough

Having spent years in the military, the man said he was careful not to alarm joggers and walkers as they went by, and swiftly called triple-0 and waiting by the river’s edge until officers arrived after about 10.30am.

The man said he chose to stay fishing following what had been a whirlwind of a morning.

“I didn’t want to go home because I live on my own,” he said.

“I go fishing every day, night time as well … it’s my escape.”

Water Police were seen leaving downstream of the Maribyrnong just after 2pm.

The man’s body was discovered first by a passer-by about 9am on Sunday.

He was found floating in the river near Saltriver Place in Footscray.

About 90 minutes later, the body of a woman was located by a passer-by near Smithfield Rd in Flemington.