The woman whose death in the Christchurch seaside suburb of Sumner on Monday was deemed unexplained by police has been identified as a 22-year-old American citizen who was working in New Zealand.
Police have this evening named the woman as Lauren Mikaila Biddle.
Emergency services were called to an address on Spinnaker Lane just before 1am on Monday morning.
A post mortem was completed today and preliminary results have been forwarded to the coroner, Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cottam said in a statement.
As part of the post mortem process, police and the coroner are waiting on toxicology results, Mr Cottam said.
Police are still carrying out a scene examination at a Spinnaker Lane address that it's believed Ms Biddle had been at, and expect to complete that process tomorrow, he said.
Emergency services were initially called by a friend who was performing CPR on Ms Biddle on Clifton Terrace, Mr Cottam said. Spinnaker Lane runs off Clifton Terrace.
"We have been in contact with Lauren’s US-based family and have been working with the US Embassy to offer them the support they need," Mr Cottam said.
No further information is available at this stage and police will provide an update as soon as they're are able, he said.
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