WARREN, Mich. – Warren police said DNA tests done on body parts that were found in a sewer last December confirm they belong to two different women.
Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green said Friday the victims' DNA doesn't match any in police databases and no missing persons reports have yielded any clues either.
"The fact that the body parts come from a different person concerns us and makes us want to be even more aggressive with this investigation," Green said. "We need some answers."
The body parts were found in a sewer line by work crews, first in August in Sterling Heights along 15 Mile Road just east of Maple Lane. The parts didn't include bones or internal organs.
In December, more parts were found in the same sewer line near 10 Mile and Schoenherr roads.
The line is 50 to 80 feet below the ground.
The body parts of small, less than four inches, and Green said they could have entered the system at a home or business.
"Based on the condition of these body parts that were recovered, they couldn't have been in the system for that long because of the temperature down there," Green said.
Police are asking the public to look at images of tattoos that were found on the body parts from the Sterling Heights discovery.
"If we identify the persons, then we can do some history on their background, we can look at where they've lived in the past, the problems they've had, what kind of criminal contacts they've had," Green said.
Police said they can't rule out that the parts could be medical waste that was illegally disposed of, but Green said it's more likely a case of two homicides.
Previous stories: