A WOMAN who was burned alive in the boot of a car has still not been identified more than three days after she was found.

The remains of the woman, believed to have been aged in her 20s, were so badly burnt when she was found just after 2pm on Friday that officers could not determine whether the body was male or female.

And officers from Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team still have no idea who she is.

A Volkswagen Jetta saloon was dumped and set alight in a lane just off Rusper Road in the Ifield area of Crawley, but when firefighters were called to extinguish it they made the grim discovery of the body.

The woman had died of smoke inhalation, suggesting that she was alive when the car was set alight.

Police are now desperately trying to trace 26-year-old Christopher Raymond Jeffrey-Shaw in connection with the murder investigation, and Detective Chief Inspector Karen Mizzi has pleaded for him to hand himself in.

She said: “We need to speak to Christopher Raymond Jeffrey-Shaw in connection with the investigation. A young woman has died in horrific circumstances. I am urging him to contact police.

“We also want to hear from anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously or the vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, in Rusper Road, Ifield on Friday between 2pm and 3pm.

“We are trying to identify the victim and would like to hear from anyone who may have any information about who she is.”

The lane where the car was dumped backs onto the £1,250-a-year Ifield Golf and Country Club. The club owners declined to comment yesterday.

Worried residents told The Argus on the weekend that the lane was a perfect place for a crime to be carried out with so many escape routes branching from it.

Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw is described as 6ft, of stocky build with dark hair and has a stubbly goatee beard.

A 34-year-old woman from Dulwich, London, who was arrested on suspicion for conspiracy to murder, has been released on bail until March 30.

A police spokeswoman said: “If you see Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw do not approach him. Dial 999 immediately.”

• The Argus quizzes police...

The Argus made a string of requests for information about the murder amid residents’ fears of a killer still on the loose yesterday.

But Sussex Police were unable to provide an interview with DCI Mizzi or any substantial answers: The Argus: Can we talk to Karen Mizzi?

Sussex Police: No response.

TA: Are there any leads for tracing Mr Jeffrey-Shaw?

SP: No response.

TA: Has the woman been identified? Name? Where she’s from?

SP: The victim has not been identified.

TA: Are the victim and the perpetrator believed to be known to one another?

SP: Don't know if they knew each other because we don't know who she is.

TA: Any motive at this stage?

SP: Don’t know.

TA: Any idea why the car was dumped in Crawley?

SP: Don’t know.

TA: Residents are saying it’s the ideal place to dump a car because of so many escape routes – does this appear to be a sophisticated killing?

SP: Don’t know.

TA: Is there any indication that the car was driven from London to Crawley? If so, was she travelling in the boot the whole time? Or is there any CCTV suggesting she was driven down in the back of the car or the passenger seat, then transferred to the boot at a later stage?

SP: These questions all form part of the investigation.