Homicide Investigation Closed After "Body" Turns Out to Be a Doll
Australian police have closed a homicide investigation after what appeared to be a human body found stuffed inside a suitcase turned out to be a lifelike doll.
Two members of the public discovered the suitcase while taking a driving break Sunday, Aug. 9, near Oallen, a small town roughly 125 miles southwest of Sydney. New South Wales Police said officers from the Hume Police District responded around 12:50 p.m. local time after receiving reports of human remains found inside the bag, which had been left on the side of the road behind a pine tree in an area with limited to no CCTV coverage.
Why Police Didn't Look Closer at the Scene
Officers established a crime scene but chose not to closely examine the item's contents at the time. Superintendent Linda Bradbury explained the reasoning behind that decision to reporters. "We don't like to disturb remains too much in situ, particularly when we have faced inclement weather, as we did yesterday and again today," she said.
It wasn't until forensic examiners later inspected the item more closely that the truth came out. According to a police statement released Monday, "the item located in the bag was a lifelike doll, wearing clothing, with hair and a nose piercing." Police added that "the item also had markings that resembled bruises and grazes," details that had initially convinced witnesses and responding officers they were looking at a real body.
A Case of Mistaken Identity, Not Malice
Bradbury said the two men who found the suitcase were shaken by the experience. "They were affected yesterday and we will be in touch to let them know that it was not human remains," she said. She added that the priority throughout the response had been protecting the integrity of the investigation. "The idea is to not disturb crime scenes as much as possible, to maintain the integrity of our investigation," she said.
With the item confirmed to be a doll rather than human remains, police have closed their investigation into the discovery.
Not the First Time a Doll Has Sparked a Police Response
Sunday's incident joins a small but recurring pattern of lifelike dolls being mistaken for human bodies by both members of the public and investigators. In one widely reported case, New York City police spent hours investigating what they believed was a deceased infant found near a park in Queens, only to discover it was a doll made up to resemble a decomposing body. In another case, a fisherman in New Jersey alerted authorities after spotting what he believed was a child's body floating in a marsh, which also turned out to be an anatomically detailed silicone doll wrapped in a blanket and duct tape.
It remains unclear who left the doll near Oallen or why, and police have not indicated whether they plan to pursue any further inquiry into how the item ended up on the roadside.
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