4.00pm
Karen Cherie Bellamy was the victim of a violent attack in which a weapon was possibly used, police confirmed today.
Police launched a homicide inquiry after Miss Bellamy, 31, was found dead by a farmer on the side of Seven Mile Rd, north of Oamaru, early on Saturday morning.
A post mortem examination showed Miss Bellamy had been subjected to "considerable force" in which the use of a weapon could not be discounted, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Wood said.
Further details of the post mortem examination were being withheld until scientific tests were finished.
Miss Bellamy had travelled in a taxi after 3.15am on Saturday and local taxi firms were helping with the inquiry, Mr Wood said.
He appealed for the public's help in relation to sightings and movements of taxis from two Oamaru companies between 3.15am and 7am.
Police were continuing to carry out detailed scene examinations, witness interviews and door-to-door canvassing in an effort to trace Miss Bellamy's movements before she died.
The inquiry team was now 30-strong, Mr Wood said.
"The Bellamy family have been receiving support from police and Victim Support," he said.
The farmer who found Miss Bellamy's clothed body and other rural residents of Hildethorpe and Oamaru were struggling to deal with the Miss Bellamy's violent death, Waitaki District Councillor and Justice of the Peace Derek Austin said today.
"Some quite upset people have talked to me," he said.
Miss Bellamy was the daughter of Oamaru JP Karl Bellamy and his wife Jennifer.
"I find it hard to believe," Mr Austin said.
"Her father is a friend of mine through the JPs. It's a nightmare situation for them. It's just too close to home."
Miss Bellamy had been socialising at The Globe Entertainment Bar in Oamaru on Friday night and was last seen near JR's Diner, on Thames Street about 3.45am, police said.
Patrons believed she was going to walk home when she left the bar.
Miss Bellamy was a sickness beneficiary with a pronounced limp, who lived alone in north Oamaru.
- NZPA, OAMARU MAIL
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