SIAN O'Callaghan is believed to have died of head injuries, an inquest opening at Oxford Coroner's Court was told this afternoon.
The 22-year-old went missing from outside Suju on March 19. Her body was found near the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire last week.
A Home Office forensic pathologist is still working to confirm a precise cause of death while Wiltshire police continue to examine the remains of a second woman discovered in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds.
Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher confirmed that Sian's death was formally certified last Thursday, following the arrest of taxi driver Christopher Halliwell, who has subsequently appeared in court charged with her murder.
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner, sitting at Oxford Coroner's Court, said examinations were ongoing to determine exactly how the young woman died. "I think the actual cause of death has not yet been defined but is likely to be head injuries of some description." Sian was formally identified by Pete Shawe, the partner of her mother Elaine, who had known her for four years.
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