ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg Police said they are investigating a suspicious death that occurred early Thursday morning as a homicide until they can get more details.
Police said a burned body was found in an alleyway after what was originally a call for a fire.
The department said officers responded to a call to assist the fire department in an alley behind 2920 Emerson Ave. S. overnight.
"Once the fire was out, they realized there was a body there on the ground as well. So we started our investigation," said St. Pete Police Spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez. "But unfortunately, because of the heat of the fire, it was badly burned. We don't know the gender, the sex, the age, we're combing that area for clues using our forensic team to do that."
SPPD said major case detectives were called in to investigate.
The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire, hoping to determine if an accelerant was used. Fernandez said this is an investigation that could take a while.
"It is difficult to get a lot of physical evidence when you have a body that's badly burned like that. So we have to rely on the medical examiner. In most cases, we, you know, rely on the medical examiner to perhaps provide us some information on the identity through dental records or any other information they can provide about the age or the sex, even the race of the body," she said.
People who live nearby said they are on edge. Terrika Burton-Hobbes just moved in a couple of doors down the street.
"It's just a really scary, terrifying situation. It's a lot of bad stuff happened on this road; Emerson Avenue. I just moved in over here. I might need to relocate," she said.
Burton-Hobbes said she no longer feels comfortable traveling down the alleyway where the body was found.
"It doesn't feel good. It's scary. I don't even want to look that way because it reminds me of some poor person. They died a terrible, tragic death. It's awful," she said.
Burton-Hobbes said she felt uneasy about the neighborhood, even before the fire.
"The house that I actually live in, some guy like killed his grandma and uncle. It's just sad," she said.
Johnathan Presson, who has friends in the area, said what makes this crime even more unsettling is how it happened.
"That's out of a movie. To do things like that, you've got to be sick in the head,” he said.
St. Pete Police said one way they can solve this crime faster is through neighbors with Ring doorbell cameras or other forms of video surveillance.
“Everyone has a ring camera or doorbell camera. We hope that you’ll take a look if you saw anything unusual around midnight. Sometimes it might even be a block away,” said Fernandez.
Until the crime is solved, neighbors said they'll be on edge.
"It's terrifying, and it makes you just suspicious and paranoid of everybody that walks by. It's sad that you just gotta like live in fear and be like a prisoner in your own home. But that's the only place you feel safe; and sometimes you can't even be safe there these days," said Burton- Hobbes.
