DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – A puzzling and shocking discovery has led to a death investigation.
The remains of a woman were found in three separate suitcases that were floating in the water in Delray Beach on Friday.
“This is the first suitcase, and then the second and third suitcase was found relatively close on Southeast Seventh Avenue,” said Delray Beach Police Sgt. Casey Kelly.
There is a large swath of area detectives are focusing on.
Delray Beach police responded to the 1000 block of Palm Trail on Friday after someone reported seeing something strange in the intracoastal.
“There were two other suitcases found within a few hours of the original call,” said Delray Beach Police Chief Russ Mager. “We were able to determine that the remains in the two suitcases were actually human remains as well, and all three suitcases were deemed to be the same person.”
The other two suitcases were located near Southwest Seventh Avenue and Casuarina Road.
The victim is described as a white or Hispanic woman with brown hair, who was about 5-foot-4.
She may have had tattooed eyebrows and had on black mid-thigh shorts.
Authorities also released a photo of the pattern of the floral top that she was wearing.
“The brand of the floral top is Betzabe, which is unique, we believe -- from what we can tell, (it) is a Brazilian company,” said Kelly.
It’s a piece of the puzzle for detectives, who believe she was put into the water between Monday, July 17 and the early morning hours of Thursday, July 20.
What happened and why still remains a mystery.
“We’ve got a great team working together,” said Kelly. “We are asking for the public’s help to generate more leads.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Delray Beach Police Department at 561-243-7888.