Perhaps one of the more bizarre cold cases to occur in the UK capital is the unidentified woman who fell to her death from the 21st floor of Wembley Point office block on 29 October 2004.
Despite numerous appeals and press coverage, no one has been able to identify the woman, or what led to her death in the last two decades.
The Wembley Point building in October 2022 (Google Maps)
Who was the Wembley Point Woman?
While investigators haven’t be able to uncover the identity of the Wembley Point Woman, we have various clues from her appearance and possessions recovered from the building.
According to Locate International, the woman was black, stood between 5ft 1in and 5ft 3in tall, and had been wearing smart clothing on the day.
She was carrying an oil painting, a plastic carrier bag featuring the lettering CPNY, £5.20 in cash, a disposable lighter, and a used packet of 10 Marlboro cigarettes.
The most significant piece of evidence recovered was a weekly bus pass issued at Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham on 26.10.04 – which suggested she regularly took this route. She had also purchased a copy of The Guardian newspaper in the building.
The woman had also been sat in a workers’ canteen prior to her death, which also suggested she was familiar with the building, leading to some people to suggest she was either a contractor or cleaner.
A recreation of what the Wembley Point Woman looked like (PA)
What is the new clue in the case of the Wembley Point Woman?
Fresh information released by Locate International believed the woman had been spotted a week prior to her death outside of the office building, and had appeared distressed and told a man she was chatting with that her boyfriend was suffering from an ongoing health problem.
Investigators are hoping this could be the clue which helps them solve the mystery, as it proves the woman had close connections at the time of her death.
The new tip follows previous accounts from the day, which saw other workers in the office building report that she looked upset on the day of the fall.
The missing person’s charity also noted that she had been wearing a cowrie shell ring – which is often linked to fertility in some cultures.
Jewellery the woman was wearing at the time of her death (PA)
The painting she was carrying at the time (PA)
Locate International is still hoping to speak with anyone who has ties to Chestnuts Arts & Community Centre in Seven Sisters, as it’s believed the woman was active in cultural groups – potentially one supporting West African asylum seekers – at the time, as well as anyone who was working at Wembley Point on the day.
For more information on the case, check out Locate International’s website here.