The body of a woman has been found inside a suitcase on the side of the road in Oallen, south of Goulburn.
Two members of the public were out for a drive when they stopped at Wolgon Road at Oallen by chance and discovered the suitcase and the body. They alerted authorities at about 12.50pm on Sunday afternoon.
“Unfortunately, the female remains have been subject to a state of decomposition,” Supt Linda Bradbury told Channel 9 on Monday.
“We’re conducting a number of enquiries to assist us in locating the identification of the female and also how she ended up in that location.
“We are relying a lot on forensic evidence.”
A crime scene has been established and the suitcase has been seized for forensic examination.
Bradbury said the two members of the public who discovered the woman’s body were incredibly shocked by what they had discovered.
“They were able to tell us how they had come across it,” she said.
“Unfortunately they were on a weekend drive, as a lot of people do over the weekend, and stopped for a break. [It was] quite a shocking discovery for them, absolutely.”
Bradbury said Wolgon Road, where the body was found, was not a heavy route for traffic but it is “travelled frequently”. She noted it was a rural-residential area.
There is not yet an indication of how long the body had been there before it was found.
Investigators are working to establish whether there are any links between the body and any missing persons on record. The homicide squad is involved in the ongoing investigations, police said.
The body was removed from the scene late on Sunday. Ongoing forensic testing is expected to take some time.
Oallen is located on the Shoalhaven River and is about 61 km southeast of Goulburn.