The body of a woman thought to be going to meet someone to make a Facebook Marketplace purchase has been discovered burning in a wooded area in Alabama.
Jermiera Ivory Fowler, 31, a mum-of-two from Birmingham, Alabama, was reported as missing on Wednesday, May 31 and her burnt body was discovered around 9pm the following day, Thursday June 1, in Birmingham's east side.
Police and the fire service arrived at the scene to find the body of Jermiera in flames before firefighters extinguished the blaze. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers said her body had "visible signs of trauma".
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates revealed that medical examiners had concluded that Jermiera had sustained a fatal gunshot wound prior to being set alight.
"She was a mother, she had so many people who cares for her and someone shot her and dumped her like that," said public information officer Truman Fitzgerald.
"It's extremely tough.
"Most of our detectives are parents, fathers, mothers, so any time you deal with a fellow parent that has lost their life and you know they are going to be separated from their children, it just breaks your heart."
Jermiera had last been seen on Wednesday, May 31, at around 4pm on 41st Street North, in the area of Tom Brown Village housing community.
Police said Jermiera reportedly went to meet someone to make a purchase from Facebook Marketplace, however they have said they cannot confirm whether this meet-up is what led to her death.
"Currently we cannot rule that out," explained officer Fitzgerald, "however our detectives are learning additional facts that may point to something else besides Facebook Marketplace.
"We're just going to do our best to investigate and back track. Our investigators have great resources in the city of Birmingham and we are going to utilise them."
Police confirmed that Jermiera's car was recovered in Birmingham, but did not specify where it was located.
However, it's been reported her car was not in the area where her burned body was discovered.
Local resident Herbert Brown told WVTM he was in shock about the brutal incident which happened behind his home.
"I thought, Lord, who would do something like this?" Brown told WVTM.
He went on to say: "When I looked out my bedroom window, I seen a big flame. I look over the fence and there was this body on fire.
"The firefighters came, they put the fire out and the police stayed out there until 2 or 3 in the morning just scanning the place."
Authorities have not yet made any arrests in connection with Jermiera's murder. Her death marks the city's 50th murder investigation of 2023 so far, according to a release from the Birmingham Police Department.
