WOMAN whose body was found in her car may have died after deciding to sleep in the boot after a drinking session. Cherry Gleeson, 56, was found dead in the boot of her car by a relative on Monday. She was a familiar face in New Norfolk and people yesterday remembered her as "jovial and joking".
Mrs Gleeson often left her car in the carpark of the Star and Garter Hotel bottleshop for days while visiting a friend who lived nearby, residents said.
However, Tasmania Police says it is still investigating how Mrs Gleeson came to be in the boot of her late-model white Nissan Pulsar outside the bottleshop.
Acting Inspector Mark Burke, of Eastern CIB, said investigations relied heavily on outstanding toxicology and forensic test results.
Police were investigating whether Mrs Gleeson died after deciding to sleep in the boot, Insp Burke said.
"We are checking to see if it's possible to lock yourself in the boot of a car like that and we are relying on the results of our forensic testing at this stage," he said.
Insp Burke said it was obvious the body had been in the boot for days, although there were no signs of significant trauma.
He said family members, including Mrs Gleeson's husband, Lachlan fire brigade chief David Gleeson, and daughter Brooke, 28, had not raised an alarm about her absence because she often spent nights away from home.
