NY - Robert Mitchell, 37, body found burned, Rochester, 6 July 2016

...Rochester police are investigating a burned body found in La Grange Park Wednesday.

Rochester firefighters and police were called to the park about 6:20 a.m. after a passerby saw a human body on the ground within the park "which appeared to have been on fire," said Rochester Police Investigator Frank Camp.

Authorities determined that the person was dead but have not yet identified that person's gender or identity, Camp said.

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Officials from various police agencies have said they have found no evidence to suggest the cases are linked, but the number of cases itself is unusual:

On Wednesday morning, Rochester police were investigating a body found in a west side park which appeared to have been set on fire.

A day earlier, New York State Police said passers-by spotted a burning body on the side of Lacey Road in Caledonia, Livingston County.

Livingston County deputies found a body in a burning vehicle on state-owned land near Union Corners Road in West Sparta in May.

Macedon Center firefighters found a body in a burning car on an access road near the Erie Canal in February.

Rochester firefighters in January discovered the bodies of four individuals on the third floor of a Leighton Avenue home.

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As of Friday, July 8, New York State Police gave the update that the two burned bodies were not connected. However, they were both cases of homicide.

Two residents were charged with murder in connection with the burning body found in Caledonia. A couple was arraigned in the Caledonia Village court on the charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. According to the Democrat & Chronicle, the couple was accused of killing an elderly woman that they lived with.

Police said no motive was found for the murder of the woman. During the news conference held on July 8, troopers did state that they were able to uncover the identity of the victim by using a serial number found on her artificial knee.

Around five days after uncovering the truth behind the first body, police identified the body found in LaGrange Park on July 13. The police kept it rather discrete by only identifying the victim as a 37-year-old Monroe County resident named Robert Mitchell Jr.

A friend of the deceased, Josh Simmonds, described Mitchell as a positive and enthusiastic person. He told the Democrat & Chronicle that he had no idea what could have led to his friend being found burning in LaGrange Park and that there were never any signs his friend was mixed up in anything bad.

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