Authorities discovered the burned body of an Alabama woman who went missing while purportedly on her way to make a Facebook Marketplace purchase, according to Birmingham police.
Jermiera Ivory Fowler, 31, has not been seen since the afternoon of May 31, according to a news statement issued Thursday.
The case is now being investigated as a homicide, according to Birmingham police.
Officers responded to a report of a burning corpse just after 9 p.m. on Thursday. According to the announcement, law officers and the Birmingham Fire Department discovered an unresponsive lady on fire.
A Google Maps street view of the location of her discovery revealed a short, dead-end road between walled backyards and a wooded area.
According to yahoo News, officers found “visible signs of trauma” on the victim after Birmingham Fire Rescue workers extinguished the flames, according to the report.
Fowler was declared dead by the fire crew, and it was later revealed that she had been shot, according to authorities.
Herbert Brown, a resident of Birmingham, told CNN affiliate WVTM that he was shocked by the fire event that occurred behind his house.
“I thought, Lord, who would do something like this?” Brown told WVTM.
According to WVTM, he noticed flames from his bedroom window and thought someone was burning garbage.
“I (went) out there with a big flashlight and I (looked) over the fence, and there was this body on fire,” Brown told WVTM.
Authorities said no arrests have been made in connection with Fowler’s death. According to the release, police were unable to confirm that her death was the result of an internet purchase meetup.
According to a press release from the Birmingham Police Department, Fowler’s death marked the city’s 50th murder investigation in 2023.