Metropolitan police say man, 21, in custody on suspicion of murdering Kelly Stewart, 41

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

Police investigating the murder of a 41-year-old woman in east London last week have arrested a man.

The Metropolitan police said a 21-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday night on suspicion of murdering Kelly Stewart and remains in custody at an east London police station.

Officers were called last Thursday afternoon after a body was found in the grounds of Memorial Community church in Barking Road, Plaistow. A postmortem gave the cause of death as impact injuries to the head.

The woman was identified as Stewart, who was from the Newham area and of no fixed abode at the time of her death.

Examination of the crime scene and surrounding area is continuing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8345 1570, or contact Crimestoppers.

• This article was amended on Thursday 2 April to remove a reference to “churchyard” in the headline.