Police Hunt Brutal Killer
Illawarra Mercury
Monday April 5, 1999
Police are hunting a killer whom they believe strangled a woman and dumped her body at a Unanderra industrial area yesterday.
The Unanderra woman, whom police identified last night as Paula Margaret Bonacina, 27, was discovered lying face down on the grass outside BBC Hardware.
A police source said there were marks on her neck.
Lake Heights man Lou Cvetkovski and his sister Zaneta made the grisly find at 9.15am when they went to the Nolan St store to buy paint.
They noticed the body lying near scrub after they realised the business was closed for Easter Sunday and turned their car around in the driveway.
But police are investigating the possibility Ms Bonacina was murdered elsewhere and her body moved to the site sometime during the night.
She was wearing black tracksuit pants, grey socks, and a grey jumper which was partially pulled up, exposing a section of her back.
Warilla Police Inspector Peter Thomas said he could not comment on the cause of death except that the woman died in suspicious circumstances and there were ``obvious signs of foul play".
Insp Thomas said there were no apparent signs Ms Bonacina had been sexually assaulted but police would await the results of an autopsy.
Police rescue squad officers, detectives and general duties police conducted a thorough search of the area surrounding the body.
The body was dumped near a cyclone fence and was obscured by clump of thick bushes. Wooden pallets were stacked nearby.
Insp Thomas said there was no murder weapon found at the site but forensic specialists took items from the scene for analysis.
``There was nothing to link our suspicions to anything at the scene," he said.
Detectives were considering the possibility Ms Bonacina had been murdered elsewhere and then her body had been dumped at the industrial site.
``We don't know at this stage how long the body has been there but certainly no longer than overnight," Insp Thomas said.
He said the warehouse had traded on Easter Saturday, closing at 2pm.
Yesterday officers cordoned off the driveway and erected a marquee to protect the crime scene from rain.
Photogrammetry police took photos as South-East Region Homicide Squad and NSW Crime Agencies officers joined Lake Illawarra detectives in the hunt for the murderer.
Superintendent Bruce Newling inspected the site after the body had been removed and taken to Sydney. The autopsy will be held at Glebe today.
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury