Cranebrook murder probe: Manhunt underway as police issue chilling warning after woman’s death

A massive manhunt is underway as police issues a chilling warning about meeting strangers for the first time after the suspicious death of a woman, 31, in a suburban home in Sydney‘s west.

The young woman, who was found dead by friends at Cranebrook on Sunday afternoon, had suffered horrific injuries.

It believed the victim ‘knew’ her attacker but it it remains unclear how well the pair were acquainted and whether they had met in person before.

In a cryptic warning, Acting Superintendent John Nelson urged members of the public to be cautious when meeting strangers for the first time.  

‘For anyone who is meeting anybody, make sure that it is in a safe environment and you’re with friends in those initial meetings,’ he said.  

Police tape surrounded a home on Borrowdale Way, Cranebrook, on Monday as homicide detectives investigate the death of a 31-year-old woman 

Forensic officers  investigate  suspected homicide amid warnings to be cautious when meeting strangers for the first time

Superintendent Nelson said the woman was from another part of Sydney and had returned to the Borrowdale Way home during the early hours of Sunday.

‘At some point between then….something has happened,’ he told reporters on Monday.

Her body was discovered about 2.30pm by her distraught friends, who immediately called paramedics. 

But her injuries were extensive and she was pronounced dead at the scene.   

‘The information that we have is that they are known to each other and there has not been a break in,’ Superintendent Nelson said.

He said the woman and her attacker were not married or in a long-term partnership, and detectives were probing how they may have met. 

Police officers spoke to forensics teams as they arrived at the property on Monday 

Friends arrived at the home to collect two dogs that had been left behind ther

Forensics officers collect evidence from a windowsill at the home in Cranebrook, in Sydney’s west

While investigators are still working to determine the extent of the pair’s relationship, he urged members of the public to be cautious when meeting strangers for the first time.  

He said the woman’s family are devastated as ‘any family would be’.

Detectives are now appealing to anyone who witnessed suspicious behaviour in the area or has information that could assist the investigation to come forward. 

Homicide Squad detectives and forensics teams were seen scouring the home for evidence on Monday and taking evidence away in brown paper bags. 

The homeowner and friends stopped by the home on Monday to collect two dogs from the backyard. 

One woman screamed at reporters to ‘go away’ as they spoke to another woman sitting in a car across the road.

One neighbour told Daily Mail Australia she was shocked by the incident as the area is typically quiet.

‘It’s devastating. Just really sad,’ she said.  

A woman kisses a dog after carrying it out of the home on Monday 

Two women arrived at the scene, with one seen entering the home to grab belongings 

She said the residents had only moved in a few months ago but seemed quiet. 

Police officers set up a scene and have begun an investigation with the help of the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.

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