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

A massive manhunt is underway as police issue a chilling first-meet-stranger warning following the suspected death of a 31-year-old woman in a western Sydney suburban home.

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

It believed the victim “knew” her attacker, but it remains unclear how well the two knew each other and if they had met in person before.

In a cryptic warning, Acting Superintendent John Nelson urged the public to exercise caution when encountering strangers for the first time.

“For anyone meeting someone, make sure it’s in a safe environment and you’re with friends on those first meetings,” he said.

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

Forensic officers are investigating suspected manslaughter amid warnings to be cautious when meeting strangers for the first time

Superintendent Nelson said the woman was from a different part of Sydney and returned to the Borrowdale Way house in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“Sometime in between … something happened,” he told reporters Monday.

Her body was discovered around 2:30 p.m. by her distraught friends, who immediately called paramedics.

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

“The information we have is that they are known to each other and there hasn’t been a break-in,” Superintendent Nelson said.

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

Police officers were speaking with forensic teams when they arrived at the property on Monday

Friends came to the home to pick up two abandoned dogs

Forensic scientists collect evidence from a window sill in the house in Cranebrook, west Sydney

While investigators are still working to determine the extent of the couple’s relationship, he urged the public to exercise caution when meeting strangers for the first time.

He said the woman’s family was devastated, as “any family would be”.

Detectives are now appealing to anyone who has observed suspicious behavior in the area or has information that may assist the investigation.

Homicide investigators and forensic teams were seen Monday searching the home for evidence, taking away evidence in brown paper bags.

The homeowner and friends stopped by Monday to retrieve two dogs from the backyard.

A woman yelled at reporters to “go away” as they spoke to another woman who was in a car across the street.

A neighbor told Daily Mail Australia she was shocked by the incident as the area is usually quiet.

“It’s devastating. Just really sad,” she said.

A woman kisses a dog after carrying him out of the house on Monday

Two women arrived at the scene, one of whom was seen entering the home to get belongings

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

Police officers set up a crime scene and began an investigation with the help of the State Crime Command’s Homicide Unit.

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