Autopsies underway for two burned bodies

MONTE ALTO — Autopsy results could reveal more today about two bodies discovered in a burning car west of the city Tuesday.

A passerby alerted authorities to the burning sedan around 7 a.m. Tuesday, deputies said. The vehicle was parked in a corn field near the intersection of Farm-to-Market roads 493 and 2812, about five miles west of Monte Alto.

Both bodies — one found in the vehicle’s backseat and the other in the trunk — were burned beyond recognition.

“The bodies are pretty much burned down to the bare bone,” Treviño said. “And some of the parts have disintegrated.”

Surrounded by crime scene tape bound to cornstalks, investigators scoured the field for evidence late into the morning much as they had Sunday when another burning car turned up south of the city.

That vehicle, left in a sugar cane field near the intersection of Mile 4 West and Mile 13 1/2 North, south of Edcouch, contained a the body of a man, who deputies now believe died of a gunshot wound to the head before the blaze was set.

Preliminary autopsy results released Tuesday indicated the victim had had dental work in the past, but his body was too severely damaged by the flames to determine an approximate age, weight or height, Treviño said.

Investigators have since identified the car as a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu Classic that was stolen from a Mission used-car lot in the days before the slaying. Employees at Frank Smith Toyota Isuzu did not report the missing vehicle until investigators tracked it to the business, deputies said.

Although none of the victims in either incident have been identified, the sheriff said that they were likely involved in illegal activity.

“The only way to end up killed and burned in a trunk of a car is if you engage in that behavior,” he said.

Deputies continue to search for a teenager spotted driving a 2006 Nissan Murano near Sunday’s crime scene around the time the fire was discovered.

Although authorities have not identified him as a suspect, he is believed to be a 15- to 17-year-old Hispanic male with a slim build and dark complexion. He was wearing a white undershirt and blue jean shorts at the time of the crime, the sheriff said.

Also Tuesday, Mission police responded to a report of several men setting a car on fire just after 2 a.m. near the intersection of Military Parkway and Scheurbach Road. No injuries or deaths were reported in that case.

Officers made two arrests in the case, but believe it is unrelated the week’s two other car fires, Mission police spokesman Lt. Martin Garza said.