Julessleuther
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Thanks Carl. Yes, usually suffocation may be determined by blood vessel breakage, but if her body had been compromised by animals, I can see how a COD could be undetermined.
Detective Jones told me that her face and neck were severely damaged from animal and insect activity, and there was no broken hyoid bone to suggest strangulation. But he said that if, for example, she had been smothered with a pillow, there would have been no way of determining that given the condition of her body.
(I have heard that suffocation can be determined via microscopic examination of the blood vessels in the eyes, but if her eyes were decomposed, this would not be possible)
He did say that they were able to determine that she was murdered despite the lack of a cause of death, but he did not elaborate on how they knew that her death was a deliberate act.
Det. Jones also said that she was clearly dragged into position. Two of her belt loops were broken, presumably from an initial attempt to carry her from the truck. Also, the way her sweater was bunched up over her head and her partially hidden position underneath a cypress tree suggested that she was dragged to her location and placed there (as opposed to landing there from a moving vehicle or just being thrown from a stopped vehicle).