Corstorphine Hill murder: Woman was dismembered
Police are treating the death of a woman whose remains were found in a shallow grave in Edinburgh as murder.
The body, which has still not been identified, was discovered in a wooded area of Corstorphine Hill last week.
The woman's body was dismembered before it was buried sometime between two weeks and six months ago.
She was white, middle aged, slim, of medium build and short. She had significant cosmetic work on her teeth and was wearing a number of rings.
Two of the rings were distinctive, both are gold with one in the design of a daisy with precious stones and the other heart-shaped.
The police said the woman's dental veneers were done "very well by a good professional" at "significant cost.
They said they were looking into the work having been done abroad.
The woman is understood to have had blonde to light-brown hair.
Police have appealed for witnesses who saw anyone with a "particularly large rucksack" or carrying tools on the hill any time since the end of 2012.
Det Ch Insp Keith Hardie, of Police Scotland, said: "The victim's body had been dismembered before it was buried on Corstorphine Hill.
"We believed this may have been within a time frame of a matter of a few weeks but possibly as much as six months.
"This is a murder investigation and our immediate focus is on identifying this woman, and establishing the circumstances around her death. We need the public's support to achieve this.
"This is someone's daughter, it may be someone's mother and I am appealing today to the public to consider if there is a mother, a daughter or a friend you have not seen or heard from for the past few weeks or months, and the person fits the following description I would urge you to contact us now."
Ch Insp Murray Dykes, of Police Scotland Edinburgh division, said: "This is a distressing case but I want to reassure people that it is also a very unusual one.
"Corstorphine Hill is very popular, well-used and a safe place to walk, cycle and enjoy some leisure time.
"While there are very few reports of crime relating to that area, I have had high visibility patrols in place since Thursday to provide reassurance and these will continue for the time being."