Murder investigation launched after body of a woman found in Heywood

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Atholl Drive, Heywood

A murder investigation has been launched and a 51-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found at a property on Atholl Drive, Heywood.

Shortly after 12.30pm on Monday police received a report of a concern for welfare of a woman at the property.

Officers and paramedics attended and found the body of the woman.

The woman’s next-of-kin are aware and a Home Office post-mortem and formal identification are yet to take place.

The arrested man remains in police custody for questioning.

Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle of GMP’s Rochdale Borough said: “I would first like to offer my condolences to the loved ones of the woman who sadly died today. We are working to provide them with support from specially-trained officers at this difficult time.

“We have launched a murder investigation and are appealing to anyone who may have any information that could help our investigation to get in touch with police.

“We will be carrying out a number of enquiries today so local residents may notice an increased police presence in the area and I would encourage anybody who has any concerns or information about what happened to approach one of these officers.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 849 of 25/09/17, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.