HENRICO, Va. -- People living off Cool Lane and Phaup Street in Henrico say they are stunned by the gruesome discoveryof a body.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Multiple Crime Insider sources confirm a man’s body was wrapped in a sheet and then stowed behind a twin-size mattress next to a trash dumpster on Phaup Street Tuesday afternoon.
"They've got to determine if this is a homicide, a suicide, which is not likely, or some kind of natural death or an overdose,” said crime expert Steve Neal. “So the first thing they'll do is determine a cause and manner. Are there injuries to the victim’s body?”
People living next to the trash dumpster say they saw bloody materials being removed.
"You have to rely on what the police tell you and if they say there are no obvious signs of trauma, yet a citizen witnessed some,” said Neal. “It’s strange to have that disconnect there."
Police spent hours on the scene, knocking on doors and people living there say they were asking when the last time trash was collected.
Neal says there are clues that come with where the body was discovered.
"Someone made an effort to dispose of this body and the fact that they did it by a dumpster is almost a clue in itself,” said Neal. “It's a situation where you can say the killer or persons involved felt as if they were getting rid of them or taking out the trash."
