‘Someone’s mother, daughter, sister, friend’: Woman’s body discovered near Sydney Airport

The severely decomposed body of a woman has been found covered in plastic in dense bushland near Sydney Airport in what police believe was an attempt to conceal it.

Homicide Detective Danny Doherty said police were now working to identify the woman, discovered by a passerby at 7.30am on Monday, only metres away from a footpath off Foreshore Drive in Botany.

Doherty said the body may have been there for “days, weeks, if not longer” and police were yet to establish how, where or when the woman he described as “someone’s mother, daughter, sister, friend” was killed.

He said police believed the woman had been dumped in an “attempt to dispose and hide the body”, and were looking through missing persons databases.

“We’re seeking assistance from anyone who may have someone who’s a friend … who may be missing, or someone who may know something, or they were worried about their loved one,” he said.

“It’s a gruesome discovery, but it’s a very tragic situation ... A female has lost their life and has been dumped on the side of the road in bushland.”

Police are focusing their investigation on an area of Sir Joseph Banks Park.

Homicide squad detectives and uniformed officers spent the day combing through the dense bushland. Police wearing face masks pitched a blue police tent at the crime scene and taped off the walking track next to the busy road.

Doherty said the woman’s body was found in a “severe state of decomposition”, which made working on a timeline difficult.

Police are appealing for the public’s help and for any dashcam or mobile phone footage, while CCTV from the nearby industrial area will also be examined.

“We’re looking for anyone who may have seen anyone act suspicious around the Foreshore Drive area in the last days or weeks,” he said.

“At the moment, she’s a mystery woman. We don’t know who she is.

“It’s a very sad tale … There’s someone’s loved one that doesn’t know the news yet that their loved one has not only been killed but more than likely been murdered.”

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