Woman recounts calling 911 about car fire; discovery of man's body unnerves residents
SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - Shreveport police face with a whodunit with no easy answers.
It involves a car fire Wednesday night that led to the discovery of a man's a body in the trunk of the burned-out sedan.
It happened in an alley near Southern Avenue and East 61st Street in Shreveport's Cedar Grove neighborhood.
Amber Sims said she's the one who first called 911 after she and her family got home Wednesday night and her 10-year-old daughter, Mia, spotted the fire.
"I guess she seen the embers burning up and she's like, 'Momma, is that a fire?' And I walked down that way and looked back there. And lo and behold, the car from the back seat back was engulfed in flames."
Sims said her Dad quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher.
"He tried to run over with it. I said, 'Daddy, that fire extinguisher is just not going to be big enough for those flames'."
After firefighters doused the flames, they discovered the man's body in the trunk.
Takila Rugley said what's most unsettling about that discovery is how close it happened to her home.
"And there be kids walking up and down this alley. So, and they be playing. So, like I say, it was shocking and scary and never happened here before."
University Health is where the man's body has been taken for an autopsy.
But an identification may not come quickly because of the severe burns to the remains.
Finding an ID could come down to using dental records or DNA testing.
But first, police said, they need to identify the owner of the car to see if that person is okay and whether the car had been reported stolen.
The sedan has been impounded as evidence.
"I hope they find whoever did it and get justice for it," Rugley said.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identity of the person or people responsible for the homicide and fire.
Authorities urge anyone with any information to contact Shreveport-Caddo Crime Stoppers by calling (318) 673-7373 or visiting the organization's website, lockemup.org.
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