A woman has been charged with murder after the body of a woman with a bag over her head and her legs bound with plastic was found in the Maribyrnong River.
The body of the unidentified woman was found floating in the river in Flemington on Sunday morning by a local fisherman. According to him, the woman was badly bruised.
On Tuesday, detectives from the homicide squad arrested a woman and a 15-year-old boy from West Footscray. The pair were interviewed by police.
While the boy was released without charge, the 49-year-old woman was charged with murder and remanded in custody to appear in Melbourne District Court on July 17.
Police suspect that the women knew each other.
Police are appealing for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage from the areas around Glasmis Rd in West Footscray or Smithfield Rd in Flemington, near Lynchs’ Bridge between 12pm on July 12 and 10.30am on July 14, to come forward.
“The police would also like to get in touch with people who observed suspicious activities in those areas during that period,” the police said in a statement.
Detectives are also investigating the discovery of a man’s body, found floating in the same river in Footscray just 90 minutes earlier.
The woman’s body was discovered in the Maribyrnong River at Flemington. Photo: NewsWire/Tony Gough
The water police were seen investigating on Sunday morning. Photo: NewsWire / Valeriu Campan
Police have confirmed that the man’s death is not related to the woman’s death and that the case is not being treated as suspicious.
He has not yet been officially identified.
Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000