Officials Identify Body Found Outside Thrift Store
PORT HURON TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A body found this month behind a Michigan thrift store has been identified as that of an 89-year-old woman from Oregon, and another woman is expected to face charges next week, authorities said Thursday.
Mary Gertrude Grenia, of Salem, Ore., was identified using X-ray comparison from medical records, the St. Clair County sheriff's department said.
"Our investigation of this incident led to locating items believed to belong to the deceased woman," Sheriff Tim Donnellon said in a statement. "That information, coupled with a tip from a citizen, led to a request for medical information from Salem."
Grenia's body was found March 12.
Authorities have said it was hidden more than a week under snow and blankets behind the Goodwill store in Port Huron Township, about 55 miles northeast of Detroit. The body was found next to a dumpster by a worker who was cleaning the area, the sheriff's department said.
Sheriff's officials initially believed the woman was not a victim of foul play -- until an investigation showed otherwise. A cause of death hasn't been released.
A 49-year-old woman from Salem, Ore., who the department has said is believed to have dumped the body, is in custody in Illinois after being found in Belleville, Ill. She's expected to be taken to Michigan to face charges.
Her name hasn't been released.
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