Woman found in car boot with stab wounds, two women arrested
A woman who was stabbed multiple times has been found in the boot of a car after police received reports of a hand waving from its tail light section south of Sydney.
A truck driver called triple zero about 11.30am on Wednesday and police stopped a white Holden sedan on the Hume Highway at Berrima, west of Wollongong, about 11.50am.
NSW police stopped a white Holden sedan on the Hume Highway at Berrima after receiving reports of a hand waving from its tail light section.Credit:Nine News
“[An] observing motorist saw a hand protruding from a tail light cavity in the vehicle and subsequently called police ... it was stopped by police after [an officer] saw a hand also protruding from the tail light,” Detective Chief Inspector Brendan Bernie, from the Hume Police District, said.
They found a 24-year-old woman in the boot. Chief Inspector Bernie said he did not yet know how the woman got her hand through the cavity to alert the public.
She had multiple stab wounds to the knee, thigh and forearm and was treated at the scene before being taken to Liverpool Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
She was still in hospital in a stable condition and was assisting police on Wednesday afternoon.
The driver, who is believed to be an 18-year-old woman, and her 24-year-old female passenger, were arrested and taken to Southern Highlands police station.
All three women are from the Greater Sydney metropolitan area and police are investigating why they were in the Southern Highlands, Chief Inspector Bernie said.
He said no charges had been laid and all three women were assisting police with inquiries.
“It’s very fortunate that we’ve found this lady alive. We think this could have ended quite catastrophically for her,” he said.
“We do believe she was in [the boot] for some time. Exactly what stage she was put into the vehicle or she entered the vehicle, that is still under investigation.
“It is a terrible incident. It’s very rare that police have intercepted it in the process, so to speak. We’re just happy no one was killed or seriously injured.”
Investigations are ongoing and police will conduct a full forensic search of the car.
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Pallavi Singhal is a data journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald