Latest news with #LakshmiSammarco
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Coroner to discuss developments in case of woman found buried with a rose in 2018
Saturday will mark seven years since a woman was found buried in a shallow grave in North Avondale. She was wrapped in a sheet and had a long-stemmed rose on her chest. Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco and her team have made multiple pleas to the public in an attempt to identify her with little progress. However, Sammarco announced she will be discussing developments in the case during a May 27 press conference. Back in 2018, children spotted a portion of her body exposed in the 400 block of Glenwood Avenue at Alston Park apartments. The coroner said she had been buried for some time and her body was decomposing. She was found wearing a tank top, a Smoky Mountain Moonshine T-shirt and a sweater along with loose pants when she was found. Earrings and black rope bracelets were found on her body. Though the cause of death was not determined, Sammarco never suspected foul play. "They didn't have to bury her. They didn't have to leave a rose behind. Clearly, it was someone who cared about her," Sammarco said. Investigators recovered DNA, determined she had cocaine and morphine in her system and reconstructed what she may have looked like using a 3D scan of her skull. This gave investigators a face, even though they still lacked a name. In 2023, new digital facial reconstruction images were released with the help of the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Ohio State University. Sammarco will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. The Enquirer will update this story. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Coroner to discuss developments in case of woman buried with a rose
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Coroner's office seeking help identifying bodies of two men found recently
The Hamilton County Coroner's Office is looking for help identifying two men whose bodies were found recently, according to our news partner WCPO. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] A man's body was found Tuesday, March 4, near the Sacred Heart Recreational Area soccer fields near Mt. Storm Park in Clifton, WCPO says. TRENDING STORIES: Mobile crisis mental health services to resume in Montgomery County Local self-serve tap house now closed Woman goes overboard on Royal Caribbean 80s-themed cruise The coroner says they do not expect foul play in the man's death, but his fingerprints are not in any system and the facial recognition software has not identified him, WCPO says. The man was white, around six feet tall and around 230 pounds, according to WCPO. He had brown hair, brown eyes, a full beard and longer hair, WCPO says. The man did not have any identifying tattoos or scars, and was found with black-framed glasses, black pants, a black jacket and a black backpack, WCPO says. 'This person had not been dead for a while, he was found pretty quickly after his death,' said County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco. 'It's just there's nothing in the system.' A second man's body was discovered March 1 near the Delhi Township and Cincinnati line in the 6800 block of Hillside Ave in a heavily wooded area, WCPO says. According to WCPO, the man's remains were skeletal when they were discovered. Sammarco says he doesn't suspect foul play in this death, either, according to WCPO. 'Judging by the area where he was found and the steepness of the hillside and the likelihood of his size, we don't think he was put there,' said Sammarco. 'We don't think he was placed there, we do think that he probably took himself there and then died. So we're not suspecting foul play.' According to WCPO, the remains were a middle aged black man who was around six feet tall. They also say he was wearing XL sized shirts, a Port Authority-style fleece jacket, Levi jeans and size 13 Airwalk shoes. According to WCPO, Sammarco estimates the man died last fall. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office at (513) 946-8700. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man's remains had been in Delhi Township woods for months; coroner asks for help to ID him
The skeletal remains found by passersby over the weekend in a wooded section of Delhi Township belong to a man whose body had likely been in that area since last fall, officials said. Investigators do not believe foul play contributed to the man's death, as there was no evidence of bullet wounds or blunt force trauma, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said during a press conference on Wednesday. Sammarco said the coroner's office is asking for the public's help in identifying the man and reaching his family because investigators' efforts to discern his identity have so far proved unsuccessful. She described him as a middle-aged Black man, roughly 6 feet tall with an extra large shirt and size 13 shoes. It remains unclear why the man was in the woods, whether he was homeless or even if he lived in Delhi Township. The remains were first discovered near the 6800 block of Hillside Avenue on Saturday when people collecting deer antlers in the woods stumbled upon what appeared to be human bones, officials said. Officers located additional remains when they returned to the area on Sunday with Cincinnati Search and Recovery and EquuSearch Midwest, a volunteer-based search and recovery organization. While the remains were recovered during the span of two days, officials say they belong to just one person. Due to the man's size and the difficulty of the terrain where he was found, officials said they do not think he was placed there, but rather walked into the woods himself. Delhi Township police Lt. Joe Macaluso said officers did not find any campsites or evidence to suggest that someone had been living in the woods. There were also no abandoned vehicles found in the area, Sammarco added. The department has not received any missing persons reports that match the man's description, officials said, adding they will likely have to broaden the search to other jurisdictions, especially since the remains were found near the township's border with Cincinnati. "Somebody in the area must know something," Sammarco said. She added the coroner's office is awaiting the results of a final forensic anthropology report, which is expected to take a few weeks. Anyone with information regarding the death investigation is urged to contact the Delhi Township Police Department at 513-922-0062 or the Hamilton County Coroner's Office at 513-946-8700. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Coroner seeks help to ID remains of man found in Delhi Twp. woods
