At 2.44am on Sunday, 26 June, London Ambulance Service called police to a seriously injured woman found in Cranbrook Road, Ilford.
Officers and ambulance personnel responded to the scene. A woman, 36, was taken to the hospital with serious head injuries.
Despite the best efforts of the first responders and doctors at the hospital, she died later that morning.
A crime scene remains in place.
When the victim was attacked, she was walking down Cranbrook Road toward Gants Hill Station.
“Our investigation remains in the critical early stages,” said Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads the Met’s East Area BCU. “Homicide detectives from Specialist Crime are now leading the investigation.”
“The woman had been subjected to a heinous assault and died as a result of her injuries.”
Emergency investigations have been underway since the early hours of Sunday morning to identify the woman.” Formal identification has not yet occurred, but the woman’s family has been notified and is receiving assistance from specially trained officers.
“Teams of dedicated officers are working hard to figure out what happened and who is to blame.” This includes a thorough forensic examination of the scene and surrounding area, house-to-house inquiries, and a focus on locating all available CCTV. At this time, no arrests have been made.
“Local residents will notice an increased police presence in the area today and in the coming days.”
I understand that this is an extremely distressing incident for women, particularly in our community, and I urge you to be alert but not alarmed.
The investigation is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers of the Met’s Specialist Crime North Command, who stated, “It is critical that my officers speak with every possible witness and everyone with information that may assist the investigation.” Anyone who was in the Cranbrook Road area of Ilford between 02:00hrs and 03:00hrs on Sunday morning is asked to contact us, as is anyone who drove through the area and may have dashcam footage. We’d also like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Ilford area over the weekend.
Anyone with information, video footage, or witnesses should contact the major incident room at 0208 345 3715.
You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or going online at crimestoppers-uk.org. They will never ask you for your name. They are unable to track your call, IP address, or device.
