Aurora – A body discovered by firefighters inside a burning apartment Monday night is a murder victim, authorities said Tuesday.
Monet Turner, 23-year-old resident of the apartment where the fire started, was reported missing Sunday night, but police did not say whether she was the person found in the apartment.
Turner is a cosmetologist and renewed her license a month ago, according to state records.
A positive identification of the body has not been made, and investigators were unable to say whether the person found was a man or a woman.
During the fire, the body was found in the bedroom of a first- floor unit at the Oak Ridge Apartments, 832 S. Chambers Road, said Aurora Fire Capt. Mike Ackman.
Investigators from the Aurora Fire Department, Aurora police homicide detectives and arson investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation were on the scene Tuesday looking for clues.
Based on evidence found at the scene, the case is considered a homicide, said Aurora police Sgt. Rudy Herrera. He did not elaborate on the evidence found.
The CBI is assisting Aurora firefighters. It’s not unusual for the CBI to help because the agency has dogs available to sniff for accelerants and other materials, Ackman said.
Firefighters were sent to the apartments about 5:41 p.m. Monday after heavy smoke and fire were reported in a ground-floor apartment.
The fire spread to the second and third floors and eventually to the attic.
Bystanders kicked in doors in an attempt to save people. A 53- year-old man suffered smoke inhalation and was treated at Medical Center of Aurora.
Several residents in the three apartments that were destroyed were moved to other vacant apartments in the complex, Ackman said.
The damage to the apartments was estimated at $50,000.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
