Almost 30 years after Danielle Louise Easey entered the world in dramatic circumstances, the Lake Macquarie woman has been taken in a tragic turn of events.
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Police say Ms Easey was murdered in what one senior detective has described as a "gruesome death".
Her 29-year-old body was dumped and left - possibly for weeks - before it was discovered wrapped in plastic floating in Cockle Creek near Killingworth at about 10.30am on Saturday.
Detectives from the State Crime Command are in Lake Macquarie trying to piece together the final weeks in the life of Ms Easey - who was born on the front lawn of a Newcastle hospital 90 minutes after the infamous 1989 earthquake struck the city, earning her the nickname "Quaker".
On Monday, Strike Force Furzer detectives made a public appeal for information about Ms Easey's movements over the past three to four weeks.
It is understood she had not been reported missing before her body was found on Saturday.
Investigators say the 29-year-old had lived with family at Booragul, but had recently been couch-surfing in the Lake Macquarie area in the lead-up to her death.
Homicide Squad Detective Chief Inspector Grant Taylor said the people Ms Easey had been staying with in recent weeks were of "great interest" to police.
Detective Chief Inspector Taylor would not reveal how Ms Easey died when he spoke to reporters on Monday afternoon, but he said she suffered "significant injuries" and police were treating her death as a murder.
He said strike force investigators were looking into whether Ms Easey's murder was connected to the 29-year-old becoming "involved in the drug milieu".
"Danielle died a gruesome death, that's what I can say at the moment," Detective Chief Inspector Taylor said.
"We believe that Danielle may have been killed weeks ago. We just don't know at this stage exactly, other than to say some time between mid-August and present is when we are very interested in knowing her movements.
"We believe that she didn't venture too far from this general area.
"Our primary focus at present is trying to establish when Danielle was killed and where."
Detective Chief Inspector Taylor said police believed Ms Easey's body had not travelled far from where it had been dumped by the time passers-by spotted it on Saturday.
He said police were speaking with Ms Easey's family - who had not been in contact with her for several weeks - to help piece the puzzle of the 29-year-old's final days together.
"We are trying to establish when Danielle was actually killed," he said.
"We're very interested to hear from members of the public in regards to the movements of Danielle over the last three weeks.
"We also believe that Danielle was residing at a number of different locations over the last several weeks - we're very keen to hear [from] the people who were putting her up in that period of time.
"So if anyone knows exactly where Danielle was sleeping in the last three to four weeks, please come forward and tell us."
A post-mortem examination began on Monday, but remains ongoing.
Ms Easey's family was too distraught to speak when approached by the Newcastle Herald on Monday afternoon.
Floral tributes had been left at the bridge on Wakefield Road, which passes over Cockle Creek near the old West Wallsend Colliery site, where Ms Easey's body was discovered.
Danielle Easey was born just after midday on December 28, 1989, as the horror of the infamous earthquake was unfolding throughout Newcastle.
Her mother, Jennifer Collier, gave birth on the front lawn of the city's Western Suburbs Maternity Hospital at Waratah, with nurses giving young Danielle the nickname 'Quaker' - a moniker that stuck.
The Newcastle Herald checked in on Danielle several times throughout her life - as she attended school at Wyee Point, Budgewoi and North Lakes - on milestone anniversaries of the earthquake.
"She often goes around telling people she was born on the day of the earthquake,' Ms Collier said of her daughter in an interview with the Newcastle Herald in 1999 to mark a decade since the earthquake - and Danielle's 10th birthday.
"In fact she is proud of it and we think it makes her even more special."
However, it appears Ms Easey's life took a troubled turn in recent times.
Detective Inspector Taylor said on Monday Strike Force Furzer investigators were looking into whether Ms Easey's involvement with drugs was connected to her murder.
He said Ms Easey was previously known to police, but would not comment on the circumstances.
The Newcastle Herald understands she was arrested in March in relation to alleged drug and break and enter matters after a public appeal for her whereabouts on social media.
She was also suspended for driving for three months while absent from an appearance at Newcastle local court on Thursday for driving with a suspended licence.
Detective Chief Inspector Taylor reiterated the call for any information that could help police figure out Ms Easey's whereabouts on her final days - including CCTV or dash cam footage recorded in the Wakefield Road area.
"We know that Danielle was staying at different locations over the last three weeks and we are keen to establish where those locations were and speak to who she stayed with during that time," he said.
"Of particular interest to us is any sightings or contact with Danielle since early to mid-August, and we are appealing for those people to contact us as soon as possible."
- Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
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