CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County coroner is asking for the public's help identifying a woman whose body was found dismembered in North Fairmount Sunday morning.
Cincinnati police Chief Teresa Theetge joined Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco in making the plea for information, as the woman's manner of death has officially been ruled a homicide.
Police received a call about something suspicious in the woods off Baltimore Avenue near Beekman Street early Sunday, Theetge said. When officers arrived, they found an unidentified Black woman's dismembered body.
"If you're missing a loved one please give us a call. If you haven't heard from anyone and you normally would have a phone call or an interaction with them every couple of days and you haven't within the last few days, give us a call so we can research whether or not this may potentially be your loved one," Theetge said.
Officials said there are not enough remains for fingerprint or dental scanning, making it more difficult to identify the woman. She is about 5 feet tall and 120 pounds, likely in her late 20s or early 30s. While she has no tattoos, birthmarks or scars, it is believed she does have at least one child.
"Other than that we really don't have any more information," Sammarco said.
The woman was killed either late Friday or early Saturday, Sammarco said. She was likely dead before she was dismembered. Her body was found with no clothing or jewelry on it.
Sammarco could not speak on the type of weapon used in the woman's murder or what kind of instrument was used in the dismemberment.
"We have some clues, we're working with the tool marks people in our office to give us a little but more guidance," she said. "But nothing left behind that would indicate, 'hey, this was this type of weapon or this type of a cutting utensil.' We don't have any of that information."
Sammarco said she has had about four dismembered bodies come through in her 12 years as coroner, but she has never had a case like this with such little information. There are three trace evidence experts working on the case.
"If you know of anybody that fits that description, anybody you haven't been in touch with who hasn't contacted you who's missing, anybody in the area, if there's a child out there looking for his or her mother and anybody has any information, we're just asking you to give us that information."
The woman's death is a homicide, and Sammarco said the cause of death is known but is not being shared at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cincinnati Police Department or the coroner's office at 513-946-8700. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 513-352-3040.
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