Client may have killed Vic sex worker A SLAIN Melbourne street prostitute is being remembered as the glue in a community of shocked sex trade workers. Police say the 40-year-old woman was violently killed in the van she was living in and may have been murdered by a client. She died on the same street as St Kilda Gatehouse, a non-profit support group that had been helping her for months. "She was a very loving and caring person," says St Kilda Gatehouse CEO Sally Tonkin, who had to break the news to her grieving staff. She was the glue in the community and she'll be deeply missed. The woman, who used the professional name Kelly, was found dead by her boyfriend inside her parked van on Greeves Street in the bayside suburb on Sunday afternoon. Ms Tonkin said street prostitutes in St Kilda's red light district hadn't been reporting any more trouble with clients than usual. "We've lost numerous people over the years, but not in this way," she said. The women that we work with are survivors. They are very resilient women and they are the most-informed in terms of safety. She said staff had worked with the woman on a daily basis but want to keep more details about her life private out of respect for her family. We're devastated and quite shocked about what's happened. Detective Inspector John Potter of the homicide squad said the woman had suffered violent injuries to her upper body and face, but there was no sign of forced entry into her van. "It is possible that whoever approached her did so in some sort of professional status or was known to her," he said. "There will be street talk about what went on and possibly who is responsible," he said. Mourners have left flowers near where her van was parked.