SYDNEY, Australia- Australian police launched a homicide investigation after a lifelike sex doll found inside an abandoned suitcase was initially mistaken for human remains in rural New South Wales.
Two men were travelling through the countryside on Sunday when they discovered the suitcase, which appeared to contain what looked like the remains of a person.
The discovery prompted police to treat the incident as a potential murder, with homicide detectives and forensic specialists deployed to examine the suspected crime scene.
However, forensic examinations later established that the apparent remains were actually a lifelike sex doll.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Linda Bradbury said the doll was realistic enough to initially convince investigators that they were dealing with human remains.
“They were mistaken for a human originally,” Bradbury told reporters.
“They are very realistic in terms of looking like human remains.”
Police said the doll was dressed and had hair and a nose piercing, adding to the initial confusion over its identity.
Investigators were further misled by markings on the doll that appeared to resemble injuries.
Police said the object had “markings that resembled bruises and grazes”, prompting investigators to conduct forensic examinations before determining that there had been no murder.
The discovery triggered a significant police response because of the possibility that the suitcase contained the remains of a homicide victim.
Authorities did not disclose who owned the doll or how it came to be abandoned in the rural area.
Police subsequently confirmed that the investigation had been concluded after forensic examinations established that the suspected human remains were a lifelike doll.
