Former detective explains how lifelike doll in suitcase sparked almost day-long police investigation in remote NSW

A former senior detective has revealed why it could take police almost a day to discover a suspected woman’s body stuffed inside a suitcase was actually a lifelike doll.

Police were called to Wolgon Rd in Oallen, about 60km south of Goulburn, just before 1pm on Sunday after members of the public reported finding what appeared to be human remains inside a suitcase.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Goulburn body discovery turns out to be doll

A crime scene was established amid torrential rain on Sunday night in the remote area, where there was limited phone reception and no CCTV.

On Monday morning, however, police confirmed the item inside the suitcase was a lifelike doll dressed in clothes, with hair and a nose piercing.

“The item also had markings that resembled bruises and grazes,” police said in a statement.

Superintendent Linda Bradbury told reporters on Monday the doll was “very realistic in terms of looking like human remains”.

“We don’t necessarily like to disturb any crime scenes because that’s our links to making sure that offenders are brought before the court,” she said. 

Macquarie University criminology lecturer Vincent Hurley, who spent 29 years as an operational NSW Police officer and retired as a detective superintendent, said the outcome was far better than police making the opposite mistake.

“Nothing would look worse than them saying it was an animal, and in fact, it wasn’t — it was a human,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.

Hurley knows first-hand why officers would be reluctant to disturb such a scene.

During his policing career, he attended an investigation after a real body was found inside a suitcase dumped beneath a tree in a reserve.

He recalled the suitcase being only partially opened before specialists arrived.

“The reason for that is that they don’t want to contaminate or taint the crime scene by interfering with it too much,” he said. 

Hurley said fully opening a suitcase could potentially disturb crucial evidence, including hair, clothing fibres or DNA that could later help identify an offender.

He said it was reasonable for officers to be cautious given the circumstances in which the suitcase was found, adding that it was “not unusual” for bodies to be concealed in suitcases and dumped in bushland.

“It does happen, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” he said.

Why did it take so long?

Hurley said he was not surprised it took almost a day for police to establish the suspected remains were not human.

He said what might appear to be a straightforward process could involve multiple stages.

General duties officers would first attend and assess the scene before detectives were called in. 

If human remains were suspected, specialist forensic services and potentially a forensic pathologist could then become involved.

The scene would need to be examined and documented before the suspected remains could be removed and more thoroughly examined.

Hurley said the fact the discovery was made on a Sunday in a regional area could also have added to the timeframe, as specialist resources are not necessarily immediately available locally.

“They’re highly specialised, so they’re pooled,” he said.

“It’s not like what you see on Netflix or anything like that.”

Hurley said it is easy to question how a doll could have been mistaken for human remains after the fact, but investigators at the scene did not have that luxury.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” he said.

“What did they know or what did they think at the time, and was that thinking justified? Yeah, of course it was.”

Hurley said he would have taken the same approach and did not believe the length of time should be used to judge whether police had done a good or bad job.

“The death of a human being, regardless of the circumstances, is a pretty serious thing,” he said.

“The fact that they appear to be methodical, that they appear to take it seriously, was, to me, the most important thing.

“They’re acting in good faith. And if it takes time, it takes time.

“If it turned out to be nothing, so be it. That’s great. It might be slightly embarrassing, but I’d much rather it be a doll than they get it wrong and it was an actual human.”

Bradbury similarly defended the response, saying there were “no regrets at all” despite the significant police operation and resulting media attention.

“I couldn’t actually be more proud of my team than I am,” she said.

Police said investigations into the ”body” had concluded but they are still probing how long it had been abandoned and whether it is linked to a dumped car in the area.