A 38-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found in Birmingham parkland.
The body of Michelle Stonall was on Saturday in a brook at Sheldon Country Park.
The 34-year-old, from Kingstanding, had been strangled and was discovered by a dog walker in a secluded part of the park.
A pathologist concluded that she had died as a result of strangulation and Michelle was only identified when worried relatives filed a missing person’s report with police late on Monday evening.
Michelle’s sister Tracey has paid tribute to her on behalf of her devastated family, who are being supported by police family support offciers.
She said: “Michelle was a loving daughter to her mum, dad and loving sister to her brother and two sisters.
“The family are very distraught, devastated and going through a really tough time. We love and miss her dearly.
“She will always be in our hearts and never forgotten. We appeal for any witnesses to please come forward.”
More than 50 officers are currently working on the investigation, codenamed Operation Mineral.
Acting Det Supt Tim Bacon, from Force CID, said: “We urgently need to speak to anyone who was in Sheldon Country Park on Friday or Saturday.
“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.”
The man who has been charged was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of murder and detectives were granted a 36-hour Magistrates extension to question him on Wednesday.
Witnesses are urged to contact Stechford police station on 0345 113 5000, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
