Human torso found 'stuffed into sofa' dumped at roadside in Australia

Detailed summary

The horrific discovery was made after resident noticed a foul odour, leading them to find the remains stashed just five metres off the road ...

A murder investigation has been launched as a human torso has been found stuffed into a couch dumped on the side of the road, police say. The torso was found without a head and limbs just off an Australian road in an area covered by trees and scrubland, not far from Sydney's leafy North Shore.

Police were called to the area by residents overcome with a strong odour just off Avan Crescent, Lane Cover North. Forensic investigators arrived at the scene, which borders ar river, as murder detectives took over the case. While the remains are yet to be formally identified police believe they belong to an adult male.

North Shore Local Area Commander Paul Devaney confirmed the torso was now undergoing forensic testing. He also confirmed the remains were found just five metres off the road on a "very quiet" street on Wednesday at 2.30pm local time.

Supt Devaney said: "We received a number of reports from members of the public in relation to the odour and the suspicious item, and that's how (police) came to be there. This is a very, very quiet street in Lane Cove – an area that has nil crime rate, so it's very unusual activity."

Supt Devaney said: "Obviously it's distressing to the local community, and I want to assure them that I'm confident they're not under any threat. There's no indication this person met foul play within the area of Lane Cove, but as I said it's very early stages and we are still undertaking numerous and comprehensive inquiries."

The area is home to a number of popular local walking tracks, including the Lane Cove River Track and the Garadi Track, reports Newswire.

A large section of the bushland was roped off on Thursday morning, as detectives scoured the surrounding area for any evidence. A search dog, trained to sniff out human remains, was also brought in as detectives and forensic officers continued their investigations.

"However the torso was located, that must have been a very traumatic experience for those people.

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