Coroner’s office has theory of dead person’s identity

Coroner’s office has theory of dead person’s identity

Coroner’s office has theory of dead person’s identity

LORDSTOWN

The Trumbull County Coroner’s office has a theory on the identity of the person found burned to death Tuesday inside a vehicle next to a cell-phone tower on Industrial Trace Road.

But until the coroner’s office has a chance to compare dental records and x-rays with the teeth and bones of the deceased, officials won’t be able say if the theory is correct or identify the deceased, a coroner’s spokesperson said Wednesday.

An autopsy will be conducted Friday.

Lordstown police said Wednesday they have no new information provide on the matter, which they are currently calling a murder investigation until they know otherwise.

Patrolman George Ebling said no one has come forward to indicate that someone they know is missing, and he said he doesn’t know if the person who owns the car is believed to be the person found dead.

Police and fire officials were called to 2640 Industrial Trace, a secluded, wooded road off of Ellsworth Bailey Road near the General Motors Lordstown complex at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday for a car fire.

They found a car on fire next to the cell phone tower about 50 yards from the road in an area hidden from the road by trees.

When firefighters extinguished the flames, they found a body inside, said Brent Milhoan, Lordstown police chief.

Because of the extent of the burns, it’s unknown if it was a man or a woman. Village officials contacted the state fire marshal’s office and the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force for assistance.

“We’re treating it as a homicide until it’s ruled otherwise,” Milhoan said. “I’m not saying it is a homicide, and I’m not saying it’s not.”