Police are hunting for a suspect who killed then burned a pregnant woman in Kampong Speu province.

The woman’s body was found in the woods near Thmey village, in the Kirirom Mountains, on Saturday evening. Pov Noeun, the Phnom Srouch district deputy police chief, said his first conclusion was murder.

Due to the victim’s burned and decomposed state, she remains difficult to identify.

“The victim was chopped many times on the head and neck . . . and the suspect tried to burn her body because we saw the place where she died was burned,” said Noeun. “I cannot say more than this because it can affect our investigation. We are also seeking her family members.”

Chey Him, the chief of Chambak commune, said that the woman, who was about five months' pregnant, is not a local villager. He speculated that she was a tourist who came up from Phnom Penh.

Police found her after a commune environment officer smelled decomposition in the forest and tipped off the authorities.

Ros Sarin, Chambak commune police chief, said yesterday that his officers found an axe, a mat, one earring, sunglasses and sport shoes.

“She was killed about four to five days ago before we found her dead because the body was rotten and swollen.

Her face was burned almost completely,” he said. “There are two injuries by chopping on her head, [and] four times on her neck.”

According to Sarin, the victim was younger than 27.