Forensic team looking for clues in case of murdered Kent woman
BLACK DIAMOND, Wash. -- The medical examiner has identified the remains found inside a torched carover the weekend.
Denise K. Grigsby, 39, of Kent died of a skull fracture and cerebral contusions, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Her manner of death has been ruled as homicide.
King County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Katie Larson said a neighbor spotted the car on fire on SE 328th Street at SE Auburn Black Diamond Road at about 4:10 a.m. Sunday.
Fire crews responded to the scene and found a Toyota Camry engulfed in flames.
After the fire was extinguished, an investigator was called in and made a grisly discovery - the burned remains of a body in the trunk of the car, Larson said.
She said detectives from the King County sheriff's major crimes unit quickly responded to the scene and began meticulously collecting evidence.
A forensics team is now going over every inch of the car to find clues about the killer.
"We're going to recover evidence," Larson said. "There is going to be trace and hopefully other physical evidence that will help us move forward."
Jacob Ramos, the neighbor who spotted the car fire and called 911, said the flames were shooting about five feet above the car.
"It was a lot of thick black smoke .... It was a pretty big fire," he said.
Ramos is now haunted by the knowledge that it wasn't just a car fire, but something worse.
"It's strange. It's very strange and weird to know that there's people like that out here - and somebody that could do that," he said.
Other neighbors in the rural, heavily-wooded area say it is usually very peaceful there, and is a favorite destination for weekend bicycling groups.
"Things like this doesn't happen around here," said Toby Benson, who lives nearby.
Denny Dennis, another neighbor, said, "I mean, it's so quiet out here." Then he added, "Hopefully they got here soon enough so they can figure out what happened. But, I mean, it's horrible."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office or 911.
"This is an egregious crime," Larson said. "This woman is murdered, and then her body is burned beyond recognition."
Denise K. Grigsby, 39, of Kent died of a skull fracture and cerebral contusions, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Her manner of death has been ruled as homicide.
King County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Katie Larson said a neighbor spotted the car on fire on SE 328th Street at SE Auburn Black Diamond Road at about 4:10 a.m. Sunday.
Fire crews responded to the scene and found a Toyota Camry engulfed in flames.
After the fire was extinguished, an investigator was called in and made a grisly discovery - the burned remains of a body in the trunk of the car, Larson said.
She said detectives from the King County sheriff's major crimes unit quickly responded to the scene and began meticulously collecting evidence.
A forensics team is now going over every inch of the car to find clues about the killer.
"We're going to recover evidence," Larson said. "There is going to be trace and hopefully other physical evidence that will help us move forward."
Jacob Ramos, the neighbor who spotted the car fire and called 911, said the flames were shooting about five feet above the car.
"It was a lot of thick black smoke .... It was a pretty big fire," he said.
Ramos is now haunted by the knowledge that it wasn't just a car fire, but something worse.
"It's strange. It's very strange and weird to know that there's people like that out here - and somebody that could do that," he said.
Other neighbors in the rural, heavily-wooded area say it is usually very peaceful there, and is a favorite destination for weekend bicycling groups.
"Things like this doesn't happen around here," said Toby Benson, who lives nearby.
Denny Dennis, another neighbor, said, "I mean, it's so quiet out here." Then he added, "Hopefully they got here soon enough so they can figure out what happened. But, I mean, it's horrible."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office or 911.
"This is an egregious crime," Larson said. "This woman is murdered, and then her body is burned beyond recognition."
