A woman who was found dead in a car boot has been named and pictured for the first time.

Harshita Brella, 24, was found inside the boot of a car parked in Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday (November 14).

Police have said she had “her whole life ahead of her” and it was cut short.

The body was found after Northamptonshire Police were contacted on Wednesday (November 13) by a member of the public regarding the concern for the welfare of a woman in Corby, Northampton.

Officers were deployed to her home address in Skegness Walk and there was no answer, which launched a missing person investigation.

Eventually enquiries led officers to the parked car in Ilford, where her body was found.

A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday (November 15) established she had been murdered.

Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), said: “First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella.

“She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way.

“Detectives from EMSOU and Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place.”

DCI Campbell is appealing to anyone who may have information about this incident to come forward.

He said: “Although we believe Harshita was attacked by someone known to her, we are keeping an open mind, and would appeal to anyone who knew her to contact us with any relevant information they may have.

“If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Police have said there is no wider risk to the public, however extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days for reassurance purposes.

Northamptonshire Police has also made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Anyone who has any information that could help detectives bring Harshita’s killer to justice, is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 24000678713.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.