A missing woman's body was discovered wrapped inside a tarp and stuffed inside a makeshift coffin on Sunday morning.
The decomposing body found inside the plywood box was identified as Marlene Santellan, 34, of San Bernardino per the San Bernardino Police Department. Her mother reported her missing about two days before the discovery of the remains.
Officers initially received a 911 call regarding the dead body in a parking lot on the 2500 block of N. Del Rosa Avenue in San Bernardino at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.In a statement, San Bernardino Police Department Lt. Mike Madden stated that the "suspicious circumstances found at the scene" resulted in the Homicide Unit investigating the scene.
The cause of death is not yet known.
A woman who discovered the remains said the box in which they were found has been at the site for about a week.
"Somebody stood the box up because the box was laying down, and nobody wound have found her," said Verlencia Greene.
The San Bernardino Police Department's Homicide Unit is appealing for the public's assistance with the case. If anyone has information, people contact Detective Cunningham at 909-384-5745 or Sergeant Kokesh at 909-384-5613.
