Melbourne Woman's Body Found in Mysteriously Lived-in Home

Back in January, a woman’s body was found at an address in Kensington, about eight months after she’d died. Now police have appealed to the public for information, admitting there’s evidence she died violently, and that at least one person had been living “on and off” at the place ever since.

The body of Sarah Gatt, 40, was found on January 3 when police attended the property for an unrelated matter. A strong smell from within the house tipped them off and they forced their way in, only to find her heavily decomposed body in the bathtub.

“Investigators believe that a body was deliberately concealed and conscious steps were taken to imply that she was still alive and hadn’t died,” Detective Inspector Tim Day explained at a Tuesday press conference. He wouldn’t go into the details, saying they were only basing this on “certain actions made by certain people.”

Sarah had been a model as a teenager, but had lost contact with her family as she become a regular drug user. She was a mother of four children aged between seven and 18. She was also known to police.

“She was a great person. I couldn’t fault her at all, she was great. Then she went down the wrong path,” Ms Gatt’s dad said, as reported by Rohan Smith on news.com. “I tried [to bring her back] and she didn’t want to do it. I lost contact with her about 18 months ago because she didn’t want to see me. Whatever I said, she just didn’t want to do it.”

Police say they arrested two women and three men in January. All were released after questioning and police are now appealing for further information.

“She had a lot of big dreams which, to be honest, I knew would never really happen but she had good intentions,” Sarah's mother Cheryl told reporters. "No-one deserves to die like that, no-one."

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.