Woman found dead in car named

Police say it could be weeks before they know how a 56-year-old woman came to be found dead in a car at Waipukurau.

The name suppression of the woman was lifted today in the Hastings District Court. She was Marion Ann Brown, 56, of Waipukurau.

A decision to suppress the woman's name until October 19 was overturned this morning as police hope that releasing her name will help their investigation.

Detective Sergeant Dave de Lange today said a post mortem had been carried out on the woman.

"At this stage no cause of death has been identified, a final result for the post mortem may not be available until toxicology test results are received and this may take several weeks," he said.

A 73-year-old man knocked on the door of an off-duty policeman in Waipukurau on October 9, saying he had a dead body in his car.

The woman's body was discovered in the passenger seat.

The Waipukurau man appeared in Hastings District Court on Tuesday, where he was remanded on bail with interim name suppression until October 19 on charges of assaulting the woman.

Mr de Lange said no decision would be made on further charges until results were available.

He said police would like to hear from anybody about the dead woman's movements on the day before her death.

- NZPA, HAWKE'S BAY TODAY