Body Found In Burning Car In Hammonton, New Jersey
HAMMONTON, NJ (CBS) - Atlantic County authorities are investigating the death of a person found early Wednesday morning in a burning car in Hammonton, NJ.
Police and firefighters made the discovery around 3:15 a.m. when they arrived in the 100 block of Linda Avenue to find a four-door Chrysler Sebring fully engulfed in flames.
"I was shocked," said Tony Porrco. The gruesome discovery was made behind Porrco's pizza shop.
The prosecutor's office says the body in the back seat was "burned beyond recognition."
"There is evidence of blunt force trauma to the body and that the individual may have been alive when the fire was set," said Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel.
Sources close to the investigation say surveillance cameras behind a nearby gift shop captured some of the crime on tape.
The images allegedly reveal two cars stopping on Linda Avenue, a flash is seen and then a ball of fire, indicating a possible accelerant. Only one car is seen pulling away.
Detectives spent the day canvassing the quiet fields and two parking lots around the crime scene, but no arrests have been made.
The identity of the victim was not immediately known. Autopsy results are pending.
Reported By: Ian Bush, KYW Newsradio; Cydney Long, CBS 3
