Woman in a dog collar found dead in Sydney park

Australian police have opened a murder investigation after the half-naked body of a woman wearing a dog collar was discovered close to a children’s playground in Sydney.

A council worker made the gruesome discovery at Buffalo Creek Reserve, a park in the affluent Hunter’s Hill area of northern Sydney, early on Wednesday morning.

The ABC reports that detectives are “looking at the possibility of it being a domestic violence incident”.

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The deceased woman was partially dressed, in what police described as dark polka-dot clothing. “It is understood that the woman's hands were bound when she was found, and there was a restraint around her neck,” says the Sydney Morning Herald. Several media outlets have since reported this restraint to be a large pink or purple dog collar.

The Daily Mail reports that the woman appeared to have experienced “massive head injuries”, although police have not publicly confirmed what, if any, injuries have been found on the body.

As police cordoned off the area around the playground, “forensic officers examined what appear to be drag marks stretching 30 metres across the path leading towards where the body was found”, SBS reports.

“We are treating it as suspicious,” Detective Superintendent David Waddell told reporters. “At this stage, it's definitely suspicious.”

He added that the investigation is still in “very early stages” and that the police are yet to formally identify the woman. A post-mortem will be carried out to shed further light on the cause of death.