Hunt starts for battered woman's killer

Police have begun a murder hunt after finding the battered body of a woman in the garden of an empty house. The unidentified woman, who had suffered serious head injuries, was found yesterday morning in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It is believed the discovery was made by the wife of a vicar from the neighbouring Holy Trinity Church.

The dead woman, who was in her twenties, was wearing a black leather waist-length jacket, a leopard skin print blouse and black trousers.

Chief Superintendent Colin Macdonald, of Sutton Coldfield police, appealed for witnesses. "The body was found quite close to the town centre and there would have been a lot of people around and a lot of parties going on celebrating New Year's Eve," he said.