Photo: Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office
An Indiana woman has been found dead inside a car, where her infant son was still alive.
The South Bend Police Department announced Tuesday that Alexis Morales, 27, “was pronounced deceased at the scene” after officers located her and her son, Messiah Morales, inside a vehicle on South Kaley Street that evening.
Police announcedin a Facebook postthat 5-month-old Messiah “was not injured but was transported to the hospital for observation.”
“The investigation is now being treated as a Homicide,” police said, adding that an autopsy for Alexis is set for Friday.
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Alexis was last seen on the evening of April 12 leaving Kelly Park with her son in a silver 2006 BMW X5 SUV around 7 p.m., the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Officesaid in a Facebook postthe following day.
“Alexis Morales told friends she was going back to her residence in New Paris, IN,” the sheriff’s office added, before giving the license-plate number and a description of what the mother and son were wearing at the time of their disappearance.
A Silver Alert was issued Monday in hopes of locating the pair, before officials made the discovery the next day. According toABC57, they were found about 10 minutes from the park where they were last seen.
A neighbor told the station that her husband “noticed” the vehicle in their area, adding, “He asked me Thursday night after coming from a game … ‘Did you see the BMW in the back?’ And I said, ‘No, I didn’t.’ He was like, ‘Oh, it’s just sitting there, I don’t know whose it is.’ "
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“I have a daughter so I can’t imagine,” the neighbor continued. “I’m sorry, it’s really sad. I wish that we could have reported the truck a long time ago. I wish I would have seen the article sooner and reported it, but I didn’t.”
The South Bend PDrevealed on Wednesdaythat their “Violent Crimes Unit has interviewed several individuals” regarding the incident, and that the investigation is still ongoing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the South Bend Police Department Detective Bureau at 574-235-9263 or Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.
source: people.com
