Aurora – A body found Sunday in the trunk of a burning car almost certainly was that of a homicide victim and is possibly connected to another crime, police said.
The body was found after an off-duty officer on his way to work spotted a burning sedan at about 5:20 a.m. in a ditch off South Aurora Parkway behind the Southlands shopping center.
Authorities spent the day searching the area for evidence. A Fire Department ladder was called to suspend a police photographer over the car without disturbing the scene.
“We are treating this as if it is a homicide,” said officer Marcus Dudley. He said the identity of the victim is unknown.
Aurora’s Major Crime Unit was investigating the death, and officials with the 18th Judicial District attorney’s office were at the scene, Dudley said.
The car was in a drainage ditch beside open fields on the eastern edge of Aurora.
Dudley would not say if the off-duty officer saw other people in the area, but Dudley said the police had “some pretty strong leads” in the case.
He said the death “could possibly be tied to other cases,” but police do not believe it is connected to the Sept. 17 shooting death of Seho Park, 22, a bystander who was gunned down after a parking-lot fight in Aurora.
The car’s roof was buckled, but it was unclear if that was caused by a wreck or intense fire. There were no obvious marks on the road or ground to indicate the car ran off the road.
“It appears it was driven into that area,” Dudley said.
The car was burned so badly, Dudley said, that he could not tell the make and model.
Area residents watched as police worked. Several said they were concerned that someone might have been killed in their neighborhood.
“It’s pretty scary,” said Rick Montez, 33. “Especially this close to home.”
