HAZEL PARK, Mich. – Hazel Park police said a 23-year-old man has admitted to being involved in the death of a 21-year-old Troy woman and storing her body in his attic.
Jessica White had been missing since April 23. According to Crime Stoppers, which had been offering a $2,500 reward, White's last communication with her family was a text message she sent to her mother at 2:45 a.m. that day.
The text said she was at a friend's house in Hazel Park, and that her childhood friend and his father were arguing, and that it was "awkward."
Michigan State Police and Hazel Park police have been at a house at Hazelwood and Woodward Heights since Tuesday. Hazel Park police said a 23-year-old man turned himself into the department Tuesday morning, admitting he had White's body stored in an attic space connected to his bedroom. Police said the homeowner originally denied that he or his son knew White.
The man is being held by police and is expected to face charges.
Cause of death is strangulation
The medical examiner's office determined Wednesday the cause of death as strangulation by ligature.
"Our sympathy and prayers go out to the White family and their many friends who remained diligent in their attempt to locate Jessica," Hazel Park police said in a statement.
A statement was posted online in the "Help Find Jessica Leigh White" Facebook page: "Last night the law enforcement was called to the residents of the last place Jessica was seen as they were handling their investigation they discovered the remains of whom is to believed to be Jessica Leigh White."
Crime Stoppers poster for Jessica Leigh White