A burned body found last week behind a building in mid-Michigan has been identified as that of a 36-year-old woman whose death has been ruled a homicide, police said.
Bay County Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham said investigators determined the body is that of Heidi E. Dowd, a West Branch area resident. Autopsy results determined Dowd’s manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was a gunshot, he said.
Cunningham said the investigation into her death remains open, with no suspects in custody.
Dowd’s body was found on Aug. 17 behind an abandoned building in Mount Forest Township by that building’s owner. Cunningham previously said that the body appeared to have been there for less than a week, The Bay City Times reported.