Chippewa County homicide victim was found in suitcase | News Break
The body was found on a vacant farm between 20th Avenue and 30th Avenue, along the Highway T corridor, south of 29 Pines. Officers learned of the body being at the farm during a drug investigation, when an informant told them about it. Police arrived at the farmhouse Wednesday and located it.
Chippewa County Coroner Ron Patten said an autopsy is being conducted in Madison. Usually, autopsies from cases in western Wisconsin are done in
St. Paul. However, Patten said it is being performed in Madison because there are
law enforcement agencies in southern Wisconsin who are involved in the case, and they wanted it done there. He estimates full results will be back in four to six weeks.
Patten said they were able to collect DNA from the body.
“That’s probably how she’ll be identified,” he said. “The body is too decomposed to otherwise determine who she is. There is no way anyone could identify her (by looking at the body).”
Police “probably” have the entire body and skeleton, he added.
Patten said it is not immediately clear what was the
cause of death, adding that there were no bullet holes or visible wounds located in the initial examination of the body.
“We just aren’t sure how she died,” he said. “The body was so extremely decomposed, that would be hard to detect. It’s got to be pretty shocking to whoever found her.”
Chippewa
County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk was unavailable for comment Monday. Last week, he described the death as a homicide because of how the body had been found, but he hadn’t elaborated. Kowalczyk added that he doesn’t believe the public is in danger.