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Two men got more than they'd bargained for after finding a vehicle with a "free car" sign on it and the key inside.
The two men drove the car to Copiah County, Mississippi before realizing a dead body was inside the vehicle's trunk, Copiah County Sheriff Byron Swilley confirmed to WLBT.
Coroner Ellis Stuart confirmed the men found the vehicle with the "free car" sign on it and the key inside before driving it to a family member's home and finding the body.
The body was identified as Anthony Mccrillis, 34, who was found without clothes and believed to have been inside the trunk for several days.
“He was identified through his tattoos and confirmed through his immediate family of his identity,” Byram Police Chief David Errington said via WLBT.
Errington said the victim's vehicle was spotted in Byron, Copiah County and Jackson during the days leading up to the incident, however, local authorities have not yet determined where the original crime took place.
Errington said an officer observed Mccrillis' car parked on the side of Old Byram Road at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday (September 18).
“It stayed there all day long for sure until 6:00 p.m,” Errington said. “Saturday night, it was still seen by another employee from the junkyard.”
Dan Peacock, who owns Starz Auto Sales, the junkyard mentioned by Errington, said he passed by the car several times on Saturday, but noticed it was gone by Sunday (September 19).
“[I] never stopped and looked or anything, but I knew it was kind of unusual,” Peacock said. “I figured somebody was driving down here to sell it. We buy a bunch of cars. I figured somebody was driving down to sell it, and it quit on them or something. Just never dawned on me that something like that went on.”
“I wish I would have looked into it further,” Peacock said. “I might’ve been able to help them a little bit further with it, but I just never stopped and looked at it. If I had stopped and looked at it, I would’ve probably tripped. I would’ve probably flipped out if I had stopped and seen something like that.”
Errington confirmed Mccrillis was seen alive days as recently as 9:00 p.m. on Friday (September 17) as he was spotted on a home surveillance video.
The sheriff confirmed Mccrillis' body didn't have signs of obvious trauma and an autopsy will determine the cause of death.
Additionally, the vehicle will be processed for evidence.