Harshita Brella murder investigation: CCTV image released from night officers believe she was killed

Murder detectives investigating after a woman's body was found in the boot of a car have released a new CCTV image of her on the night police believe she was killed.

The image shows Harshita Brella walking in the area around the Corby Boating Lake, in Northamptonshire, on Sunday, 10 November.

She is seen in the picture with her husband Pankaj Lamba, who has been described by police as a prime suspect in the murder investigation.

An international manhunt to find the 23-year-old continues. Detectives suspect he has fled the country.

Police launched their investigation after Ms Brella's body was found inside the boot of a silver Vauxhall Corsa parked in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of Thursday, 14 November.

Detectives from Northamptonshire Police believe the 24-year-old was killed on the night of Sunday, 10 November, and that her body was transported to east London in the car, which was left parked on Brisbane Road.

Detective chief inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), said: "Our inquiries have established that Pankaj and Harshita were in the area of the boating lake on Sunday evening, and as part of our ongoing investigation we have carried out searches in the surrounding area.

"We know that it's a busy part of the town and there will have been a lot of passing traffic.

"As such, we're appealing to anyone who was in Corby between 6pm and 9pm on Sunday, November 10, specifically in the area around the Corby Boating Lake, Cottingham Road and Westcott Way.

"If you have any dashcam footage, or other information that may be relevant to the investigation, however small, please contact us as soon as possible.

"Any information you have may help us piece together exactly what happened to Harshita and help bring her killer to justice."

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It comes after police released new CCTV images of Lamba on Tuesday, showing him in east London.

Ms Brella had previously been the victim of domestic violence and was made the subject of a domestic violence protection order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates' Court in September.

Northamptonshire Police have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because of previous contact with Ms Brella.

A neighbour of the couple, from Corby, said she heard two blistering rows, involving one where a woman "sounded scared", days before Ms Brella's body was found.

Sonia Dabas, Ms Brella's sister, said the family "thought something was wrong" by 13 November after her phone was off for two days, and asked people to file a complaint.

Her family said Ms Brella and Lamba had entered into an arranged marriage, with a legal wedding held in August 2023, before the couple moved to the UK in April this year.

At an inquest on Wednesday, senior coroner Anne Pember said the preliminary cause of death has been given as manual strangulation, pending further test results.

The coroner adjourned the inquest into Ms Brella's death until 21 May next year.

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