Laura Stanley was reported missing months before her body was discovered in Chorlton Water Park
It took a week to report her missing. Two months before her body was discovered. Another eight before anyone recognised her. A year before her name was released.
On a chilly spring morning almost exactly two years ago, a dog walker passed through a scenic park in a south Manchester suburb. Close to the water’s edge, they made the most horrible of discoveries.
A woman’s body was discovered floating in the River Mersey as it passed through Chorlton Water Park on March 21 2024.
She wore nothing other than a bright green Primark corset top, black New Look jeans, and distinctive dark green anti-slip socks of the type used in care facilities. There was no jewellery, no tattoo, no bank card or driving license to say who this woman might be.
For months, her identity remained a mystery. Police shared photos of the woman’s clothing in the hopes that it might jog someone’s memory, as they combed national and international databases of missing and vulnerable persons, looking for a match.
In the end, the answer lay less than five miles away.
Nottingham-born Laura Michelle Stanley was last seen at Stockport Homes’ Cornerstone offices in Stockport town centre on January 5 2024, an inquest into her death heard today (March 23).
A vulnerable woman with a history of mental health issues, Manchester City Coroner’s Court heard the 38-year-old had been taken to hospital the day before (January 4 2024) after being found in a state of distress on the M60 motorway, with drivers narrowly avoiding hitting her.
Giving evidence, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Edwards told the court that Laura was released from hospital the same day and given accommodation at Strathclyde House, temporary accommodation managed by Stockport Homes, where she spent the night.
The next day Laura met with a Stockport Council housing officer at their Cornerstones office, just off the A6, a busy road in Stockport town centre. There, she made disclosures that she had been the victim of domestic violence before Christmas, the court heard.
“She said she had been staying with a man she was in a relationship with,” Det Chief Insp Edwards said. “She claimed he had been physically and emotionally abusive to her.
“Laura told the officer there had been incidents involving a man strangling her. She was frightened of him and had not been taking her medication. She had been having suicidal thoughts and had tried to jump off a bridge in Stockport.”
That meeting on January 5 would be Laura’s last sighting. The housing officer was the last person to see her alive.
GMP were said to have since investigated the man for allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour, but no charges were brought.
It would be another week before Laura was eventually reported missing on January 12. But the court later heard that a Stockport police sergeant had ‘closed her file’ without Laura having been seen again.
“This has now been referred to police professional standards,” said Det Chief Insp Edwards. “If that had not happened, we could have identified her much more quickly.”
She was eventually retrieved from the River Mersey approximately four miles away from her last sighting on the morning of March 21, 2024. But it would be nearly a year before anyone would know her name.
Despite several public appeals, and extensive work by Greater Manchester Police, there were months of silence. Nobody came forward; no-one seemed to know who this woman was.
In November, eight months on, police issued another appeal. As releasing images of the woman’s clothing had born no fruit, Greater Manchester Police issued a digital reconstruction of her face.
Reporters were invited down to the spot where the body was found. Standing on a chilly bank, it became clear that the search was extending far beyond Greater Manchester.
“The River Tame travels through Tameside and the Goyt through Derbyshire and into Manchester, and both form the Mersey,” Det Insp Edwards said at the time.
“It could be that she entered the water somewhere else and she’s come downstream where she was discovered.”
The force were said to be looking at national and international databases, and liaising with police partners in Europe. There was even a mooted theory that this woman had been trafficked into Britain, possibly from Eastern Europe, so anonymous did she seem.
The reconstruction of her face was released to the media on November 29. Another three weeks later, it would turn up a match.
“On December 18, 2024, a Mr Collins contacted GMP to report that the reconstruction resembled his ex-sister-in-law, Laura Stanley,” said senior coroner Zack Golombeck. “We’re extremely grateful to him for his assistance.
“He provided a photo taken some years earlier and assisted in identifying her. DNA samples were also obtained from her two daughters which provided extremely strong forensic support that the deceased was their mother.”
Laura’s identity was made public in March 2025. At the inquest, the coroner asked Det Chief Inspector Edwards for her opinion on how Laura died.
“One hypothesis is that she took her own life,” she said. “But we can’t confirm that, nor whether any assault caused her death. We are just not sure.”
Mr Collins, who was the only representative for Laura’s family present at the inquest, then spoke up. “She suffered with mental health issues her whole life and she had suicidal thoughts,” he told the court.
“But she always sought help and never hurt herself. I think it’s unlikely that she took those steps instead of seeking help.”
He also took issue with Laura’s release from hospital the same day she was spotted on the M60. Mr Golombeck acknowledged his point but advised him to complain to the hospital trust, citing the ‘lack of evidence that [her death] was an intentional act’.
A Home Office post mortem was carried out the day after she was discovered on March 22, after police and coroners’ officers agreed that a forensic autopsy was required.
But pathologist Dr Phillip Lumb’s findings were inconclusive, due to the decomposition which had already taken place. Detectives believed her body to have been in the water ‘for a month or two’ when she was discovered.
“His investigations of the organs were limited,” said Mr Golombeck. “A toxicological assessment was not possible.
“There were no definite injuries to the neck muscles. There was some haemorrhaging of the soft tissue to the upper part of the larynx, which might have been related to decomposition or sustained through injuries.
“Pressure to the neck cannot be excluded. Signs of drowning were minimal and may have been lost due to decomposition – this cannot be excluded either.”
Mr Lumb was also unable to say whether Laura had died before entering the water, or ‘as a consequence of immersion’. The medical cause of death was recorded as unascertained.
“It cannot be said either way what happened,” Mr Golombeck remarked. “Her daughters simply do not know how their mother died and may never know.”
Giving his conclusion, and acknowledging the ‘substantial amount of work’ undertaken to identify Laura, Mr Golombeck returned an open verdict. Mr Collins said that this was ‘the conclusion he had come to himself’.
“There are a number of probabilities put forward, but none cross the threshold of being probable,” Mr Golombeck said.
“She had a history of mental health issues. I cannot be satisfied that she intended to take her own life, or that she went into the water by accident.
“I cannot be satisfied whether there were drugs or alcohol involved; or if there was a third party. It is a last resort, and I do not do so lightly, but I must return an open conclusion.”
As it was ‘not possible’ to say when and where she died, Mr Golombeck recorded the time and place of her death as March 21 2024 at Chorlton Water Park.
The inquest concluded with Mr Golombeck thanking Mr Collins for attending the hearing and for helping identify Laura. “Please pass my sincerest condolences to her family,” he finished.
Paying tribute to her last March, Laura’s family said: “Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure. She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community.
“Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
GMP was contacted for comment.
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