Female jogger brutally raped, murdered and set on fire while running in US woods
A Google employee from New York City who vanished on an afternoon run while visiting her mother in another state has been found murdered in a heavily wooded area.
Vanessa Marcottes was discovered less than two kilometres from her mother’s home at around 8.20pm Sunday by a state police K9 unit.
Ms Marcotte was raped and set on fire, according to a source from a local news outlet Fox25.
The 27-year-old reportedly had burns to her hands, head and feet and was also missing items of clothing.
She was reported missing after failing to return from her afternoon run in Princeton, Massachusetts, located 120 kilometres west of Boston.
Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr told reporters at a press conference, "We have a horrible set of facts, horrible circumstance."
"We don't know if this was a random act. We are asking residents of Princeton and surrounding areas to use an abundance of caution.
“People should be concerned,” Early also told the local press.
Early however stated that there was currently "nothing at this point" connecting Ms Marcotte's death to the unsolved murder last week of Karina Vetrano, a female jogger who was murdered in Queens.
Ms Vetrano vanished after she left for her daily run at about 5pm on a trail in Queens' Spring Creek Park on August 2.
Normally, she ran with her father, Philip Vetrano, but he was battling back pain and stayed at home.
The 30-year-old was running in a secluded section of the park even after her father warned her to not go run on the path without him.
She didn't return home on time and wasn't answering her father's phone calls, prompting him to report her missing.
Five hours later, Mr Vetrano discovered his daughter's body lying face down among weeds in a park, with her jogging pants partially pulled down, about four metres off the running trail.
Her clothes were in disarray, indicating a possible sexual assault, police said.
'Burn in hell': Mother of slain jogger sends message to her daughter's killer
Jogger Karina Vetrano's body found by father in New York Park
An autopsy found that she died from strangulation.
Police are examining videos from the area to try to identify the killer.
No suspects have yet been found but Mr Vetrano, an ex-firefighter, praised police efforts in the case, and said the family "owes everything" to their search.
Ms Vetrano was a speech therapist who graduated from St John’s University and was also an aspiring writer.
The striking brunette was an active Instagram user who frequently posted photos of her lavish trips across the globe, summer fun with friends and her running endeavors.
Ms Marcotte's employer, Google, released a following statement about her death.
"Vanessa Marcotte was a much loved member of the Google team, working in our New York office for the last year and a half, and known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work and love of Boston sports.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends."
According to the victim’s LinkedIn profile, the Boston University graduate had worked as an account manager at Google in New York City for almost two years.
An autopsy on Ms Marcotte has been schedule to determine the exact cause of death.
News break – August 9
