Body parts discovered in a freezer earlier this year after the sale of a Colorado property were identified as those of the previous owner’s 16-year-old daughter, authorities said Friday.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said Amanda Leariel Overstreet’s death is being investigated as a homicide, and the investigation is still ongoing.
The sad discovery was uncovered in January, after the home near Grand Junction was sold to a new owner, who offered to give away a freezer that had been left behind, according to the sheriff’s office.
Inside the freezer, there was a head, forearms, and hands. Deputies were dispatched on Jan. 12 after the person who claimed the freezer made the discovery.
Amanda has not been seen or heard from since April 2005, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain under investigation, as well as ongoing forensic testing of evidence,” according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. “There is no record that Amanda Overstreet was ever reported missing.”
The Mesa County coroner’s office announced Friday that the remains had been identified and that the cause of death was being investigated as homicide. The remainder of her body has not been discovered.
The coroner’s office did not provide a cause of death, but said there is an ongoing investigation and no further information would be disclosed. The office stated that DNA tests helped to confirm the identify.
Amanda lived in Grand Junction and Harris County, Texas, according to the coroner’s office.
The sheriff’s office reiterated Friday that the residence has new ownership, and the current owner is “completely unrelated to the previous case.”
“The house was purchased, fully remodeled, and sold to the current owner,” the sheriff’s office stated.
