The RCMP confirmed Monday that the body found in a field east of Edmonton last Friday was that of a murdered sex-trade worker.

This latest grisly discovery has prompted speculation that whoever is responsible for a series of prostitute murders may have struck again.

Police said they will not release the name of the 33-year-old woman until her relatives in British Columbia and Quebec are notified of her death.

Officials said she was known to have worked as a sex-trade worker in central Edmonton, but would not reveal the cause of death.

Earlier, there were reports that it had been difficult to pinpoint the woman's age and race because of decomposition.

The body was found late Friday night by a farmer who was tilling a field, a few kilometres from the site where the bodies of two sex-trade workers were found in January 2003.

Since 1988, there have been at least 10 unsolved prostitute murders. The RCMP is investigating the unsolved deaths of at least 18 prostitutes across Alberta, some dating back 20 years.

Earlier this month, an American homicide expert, Det. John Norwood, said he believes the RCMP is hunting down a serial killer.

"From my impressions, I think they are. Yes. They allowed us to look at crime-scene photos," Norwood said.

"It appeared that the mode of death was similar. The displacing of the bodies was similar."

There was no word Monday on whether police are linking the latest death to the earlier cases.

With files from The Canadian Press