Woman, 25, found murdered in popular Melbourne park has been identified

The woman who was found dead at Royal Park in Melbourne’s inner north has been identified as 25-year-old Courtney Herron.

Victoria Police said Herron, who had no fixed address, was assaulted at the scene overnight, sometime between Friday May 24 and when she was found on Saturday morning.

Police were called to Elliott Avenue about 9.15am yesterday after the woman’s body was located by passers-by.

“Courtney died as a result of a horrendous bashing,” Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said in a press conference on Sunday.

“The level of violence used in here was extreme. This was a particularly horrendous attack.”

Stamper added she was known to have had issues with drugs and mental health.

“Her mental health and her drug use (made) her particularly vulnerable,” he said.

“This was a young woman who had significant challenges in life.

“We as a community should be protecting these people and we didn’t. We failed on this occasion.”

The last confirmed sighting of Herron was on May 14 in St Albans.

At the time of her death, Herron was wearing a light brown sleeveless vest/jacket, a black hoodie, black track pants, black runners and a blue singlet top, which featured pink buildings, gold sequins and a large blue rose on the lower right side, police said.

“We are committed to finding the person, or people, responsible for this horrific attack,” Stamper said.

“We are appealing for the community’s help and remind them that no piece of information is too big or too small.”

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