Kirstie Ellis ‘murder’: Woman ‘laid dead in house undiscovered for weeks’, police say as two arrested

Family paid tribute to an ‘amazing woman’ who loved music, socialising and having fun

Kirstie Ellis’ family said they have been ‘left shattered and turned upside down’ by news of her death (PA)

A woman who was found dead in a property in West Yorkshire had been there for “a number of weeks”, police have said.

Kirstie Ellis’s death is now the subject of a murder investigation and two people have been arrested.

Her family said that they were “heartbroken over the loss of such an amazing woman.”

They described her as a “beautiful soul, a lover of music, socialising and having fun.”

Ms Ellis’s body was discovered inside a property in Stanhall Mews, Stanningley after police received a concern for safety report on 25 March.

They have issued an appeal for anyone “who may have seen Kirstie or saw anything suspicious around Stanhall Mews, from mid January 2022 onwards” to come forward “no matter how small they feel it might be”.

Police said: “We are particularly keen to hear from people who visited the Catalina garage on Bradford Road around this time and might have also seen or heard something that could help us.”

Detective Chief Inspector Marc Bowes Senior Investigating Officer at West Yorkshire Police said that a post mortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death.

DCI Bowes added: “Our early investigations show that Kirstie’s body had been in the property a number of weeks.”

A man and a woman, both 35, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody.

The news where Ms Ellis’ body was found (Google maps)

One woman who lived on the street where the body was found said that police officers had knocked on doors to ask if neighbours had seen Ms Ellis in recent weeks.

The woman said: “Two weeks ago, police came here asking if we’d seen her in the last two weeks. She could have been dead in there for a good four weeks.

“The police said there was a lot of post piled up behind her door. I don’t know why they didn’t kick the door in then,” she added. “Everyone sort of keeps themselves to themselves and we never really spoke to her. I never really saw her have friends round or have anyone over.

“I wasn’t in on Friday, but when I came home I saw all the police. It was a shock, it’s a proper quiet street. You just don’t expect it.”

Anyone with information that is likely to assist the investigation is asked to call the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team on 101 or by using the contact us options at westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus quoting crime reference 13220161440.