Police are questioning a man over the murder of a woman whose body was found in a secluded brook in a Birmingham beauty spot.
West Midlands Police said the 38-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.
The breakthrough came just hours after a post-mortem revealed the woman had been strangled.
A dog walker made the grim discovery at 12.45pm on Saturday while out in Sheldon Country Park.
The woman has also now been formally identified and family liaison officers are supporting the family.
More than 50 officers are working on the investigation, codenamed Operation Mineral, as police begin to piece together events leading up to the woman’s death.
A blue police tent could be seen among the trees close to the spot where the body was found while police carried out a search for evidence.
It was not clear whether the spot was where she met her death or whether her body may have been carried along the stream by the water.
While the spot is secluded, it is regularly used by dog walkers so it was thought the woman’s body would have been there for about a day.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “A man from Birmingham has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of the woman found over the weekend at the park in Sheldon. He was arrested in the early hours of this morning. He is being questioned at a police station in the city.”
Acting Det Supt Tim Bacon from Birmingham Force CID said: “We urgently need to speak to anyone who was in Sheldon Country Park around on Friday or Saturday and who may have seen anything suspicious.
“The woman’s body was discovered at around 12.45pm, however it is not clear at this stage when she may have died.
“The park would have been fairly busy during Saturday, and the area near to the brook is sometimes used as a cut-through from nearby streets, so we urge anyone who may have seen anything to come forward and pass on any information they have.”
Witnesses are urged to contact Stechford police station on 0345 113 5000, or call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
