Body Found Inside Car Identified As Paterson Woman Missing Since December
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The body found inside a car in Paterson Sunday morning has been identified as that of a woman missing since December, according to prosecutors.
24-year-old Shanaya Coley, who was last seen leaving her apartment for work at a health facility in Wyckoff at around 11 p.m. on Dec. 5., was discovered in the back seat of the vehicle registered to her.
Her father, Willie Coley, said in December there was blood near the spot where her Nissan Altima was parked on Colonial Avenue.
"There was blood in a couple of places, but we don't know whose blood it was. Don't know whose blood is in the grass and on the walkway," he said.
On Sunday, the Passaic County Prosecutor's office said police received a call from a concerned citizen regarding an unattended car left in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Paterson. CBS2 spoke with a man who said he noticed something strange, and called for help.
"So I went to take the garbage over there. Since yesterday I've been smelling a foul smell. I decide to go back there and when I smelled that odor that blew my mind. I decided to call 9-1-1," Wilfredo Morales said.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Coley's charcoal grey Altima and discovered her body in the back seat of the vehicle.
The medical examiner determined that Coley died from puncture and incision wounds, and the manner of death has been ruled a homicide.
The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office asks anyone with additional information about this incident to contact us on our tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Paterson Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-321-1120.
