Body found in truck in store lot presumed to be of Akron man, 52

staff report

AUSTINTOWN — The Mahoning County Coroner’s office has released presumptive confirmation on the identity of a body found in a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Dennis Burley, 52, of Akron, was initially identified by tattoos and family accounts of prior medical history.

The coroner’s office released a statement Friday morning stating the identity will be confirmed using dental records because the body is badly decomposed. A determination should be ready by Monday.

Burley’s body was found about 3:45 Wednesday afternoon at the end of the store’s parking lot closest to Mahoning Avenue after a security guard went to check on the truck.

Police said the truck had been parked in the lot since the morning of April 13.

Upon arrival, police said Burley was found lying on his side in the back seat of his silver 2005 Dodge Ram. A semiautomatic handgun was found on the floor.

The coroner’s report said Burley died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. He died in the late hours of April 13.

Officials said they are treating the case as a suicide, though that won’t be confirmed until the coroner’s report is complete.

Burley was wanted by Cuyahoga Falls police in the April 13 shooting death of 28-year-old Sarah Takacst.