Eureka investigates first homicide in a decade

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 2:48 a.m.

The body of a woman was found on Thursday in the trunk of a 1997 Pontiac Bonneville that had apparently been set afire in an old gravel pit near town, Sheriff Ken Jones said.

"The body was burned so badly the only way we're going to be able to identify it is with dental records," Jones said. "We have no cause of death. It may be impossible to determine."

The Washoe County Coroner's Office was assisting in the investigation.

Eureka County's last murder was reported in April 1988, when the body of Tina Dell was found in a wash near the Eureka-Elko county line.

The latest news disturbed residents this remote, rural community.

"These are things we all left the big towns for, to get away from," said Susan Piacentini, Crescent Valley postmaster. "The problem we have right now is the unknown.

"You expect this in the big cities, not in our little, itty-bitty town."

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