Woman found dead in a suitcase at west London hostel is named by police as 41-year-old from Poland who was last seen a month ago – as residents say her boyfriend has gone missing
- Joanna Borucka, 41, was found dead at Pay And Sleep in Southall, west London
- Residents at the hostel in The Crescent said her boyfriend has gone missing
- Investigators believe she was last seen alive on November 20
Detectives have named a woman whose body was found in a suitcase at a hostel as residents say her boyfriend has gone missing.
Joanna Borucka, 41, was found dead at Pay And Sleep in Southall, west London, shortly before 3pm on Friday December 18.
Investigators believe she was last seen alive on November 20, and residents at the hostel in The Crescent said her boyfriend has gone missing since she vanished.
A painter visiting the hostel opened the suitcase to find the body of a female. His grim discovery followed reports of a ‘really foul smelling odour,’ coming from a nearby property around two weeks ago.
Joanna Borucka, 41, was found dead at Pay And Sleep in Southall, west London, shortly before 3pm on Friday December 18. Pictured: Police at the scene on Saturday
A postmortem examination has been carried out on Ms Borucka, who was originally from Poland, but the cause of her death has not yet been confirmed.
One resident of the hostel said: ‘She lived in the floor up at the top. We were told by one of the other Polish guys that she’d gone to Victoria coach station,’ she said.
‘No one could get hold of her but now we know why.
‘Her boyfriend has gone missing, because she had someone living in the room with her. We don’t know where he is.
Forensic crews were called out to Southall on Friday night after local police investigating the ‘unexplained death,’ of a person found in a flat above a parade of shops
Investigators believe she was last seen alive on November 20, and residents at the hostel in The Crescent said her boyfriend had gone missing since she vanished. Pictured: Forensic officers at the scene
‘She was a lovely girl, she kept herself to herself.’
Another female resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: ‘They found a dead woman’s body from a couple of weeks ago stuffed in a suitcase.
‘The guy who had the room has left and hasn’t come back.’
Another resident, Martin, who did not want to give his last name, claimed he had known the woman for ‘about five years’ when he lived in Acton.
Police and forensic crews were parked outside a safe deposit building in Southall on Friday night, amid reports a dead body had been discovered in a suitcase
Forensic teams were seen entering hostels above the parade of shops. Business owners were not aware of who was staying at the property
‘We had similar friends. Nice girl, very nice and friendly,’ he said. ‘A very good person.’
Detective chief inspector Wayne Jolley, of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command, said: ‘News of Joanna’s death will no doubt come as a shock to those who knew her, particularly so given the circumstances in which her body was found.
‘We continue to keep an open mind and are considering all possible lines of inquiry. There is a gap between when we believe Joanna was last seen and when her body was found.
‘It’s important that we are able to speak to anyone who has information about her recent movements.
‘If you know what she was doing, who she was with or anything else – no matter how small – please get in touch.’
Anyone with information can call police on 101 quoting CAD 4319/18DEC, or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.