LEICESTER, United Kingdom – British police today named the woman whose body was found in a flat in Leicester on Friday.
(The body of Julia Mubvumba was found on Friday. A 34-year-old man believed to be Zimbabwean has been charged with murder).
Julia Mubvumba was discovered in Gotham Street, Highfields shortly after 3pm after concerns were raised about her welfare.
The 44-year-old is originally from Zimbabwe but has been living in Leicester for some time, police said.
A 34-year-old man believed to be Zimbabwean has been charged with murder. He is due to appear before Leicester Magistrates’ Court today.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Castle, who is leading the investigation, said: “I would appeal to members of the public to come forward with any information that might help us establish what has happened.
Officers entered the property in Gotham Street, Highfields, Leicester, shortly after 3pm yesterday and made the discovery. The street was sealed off.
A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to a flat in Gotham Street in the Highfields area of Leicester at 3.11pm yesterday following concerns about the welfare of the occupant.
“Officers attended the address and discovered the body of a woman. ”We are in the very early stages of our investigation.
“The building has been cordoned off while we investigate further.”
On the scene there were several detectives, a dog unit and a firearms team, as well as community support officers manning the cordons.
Neighbours in Gotham Street said the victim was a 45-year-old woman who had lived in the flat in an end-of-terrace house in Gotham Street, since December.
A member of staff at ARC Garage in Gotham Street, who did not want to be named, said yesterday evening: “The police came at about 3pm and they’ve been in this house since then. A lot of officers have been going in.
“I knew the woman who lived in the house. She was just a very normal lady – about 45, I think. She had moved in in December.
“The garage has been here 20 years and we’ve never seen anything like this before in this street.”
Craig Randle, 31, who lives in a neighbouring street, said: “I just came home and found the police were everywhere.
“They’ve cordoned off the whole of Gotham Street. There are lots of police cars all over the place and they’ve been knocking on doors in the area.
“It’s pretty worrying.”
Benji Blake, 62, who lives in a nearby street, said he was shocked by the news.
He said: “It’s a terrible thing. It seems every day there’s something terrible that happens around here.
“When it’s not one thing it’s the other.”
Community leaders have said that residents may become “fearful” at the news of a second worrying incident in the area this month.
Chair of the Highfields Community Association Abdul Osman said: “I think there’s a lot of anxiety from residents at the minute.
“Only a couple of weeks ago a young man was stabbed and died in the street, this doesn’t really paint a good picture of the area.
“However, it’s not such a bad area.
“But it’s a bit worrying and we have to be careful things don’t get out of hand. “Compared with other places like Nottingham and London, Leicester isn’t too bad, but people may be becoming fearful with two incidents being investigated in such a short space of time.”
Julia worked at the same place as me some time, i’ve found her as lovely person. I hope that this individual who did this to her (I don’t think he deserves to be called “man”) will get the highest sentence possible. Rest in peace Dear Julia.