LAWRENCE, Ind. (March 24, 2014) — An Indianapolis woman whose body was found inside a trunk at an east side apartment complex was stabbed to death, police say.
Jazmine Trammell, 24, was stabbed multiple times, according to investigators from the Lawrence Police Department. Her body was found inside a container at the Maison Gardens Apartment complex near 42nd Street and Post Road Sunday night.
A security guard found the body in a wooden chest next to a dumpster around 5 p.m. and called police. Someone had left a handwritten note on a security guard’s car at the complex.
“The note indicated there was a body in a container there and come to find out there was,” said Capt. Gary Woodruff of the Lawrence Police Department.
By Monday afternoon, the wooden trunk by the dumpster was gone. It had been replaced with candles and several memorial plaques.
“She was a sweet girl,” said one woman after lighting a candle at the site. “She didn’t bother anybody.”
Detectives told Fox59 they were tracking down leads, hoping to talk to several people who may have spent time around Trammell recently. Part of that investigation could involve looking into her potentially dangerous lifestyle.
According to police records, Jazmine Trammell was arrested just four days before her body was discovered. Police found her in a room at the Park Terrace Motel on Pendleton Pike where they also discovered marijuana and a handgun. According to a police report, Trammell admitted to possessing the marijuana. She did not have a permit for the handgun. The hotel manager told Fox59 Trammell had been staying in the room for about two weeks.
Trammell has also had other run-ins with the law over the last several years. Police say she tended to move around often, staying with different friends and family members.
Captain Woodruff said it’s not known if criminal activity may have contributed to her death, but they are looking into that possibility.
“We’ll be looking at every aspect of her life and trying to determine what fits,” Woodruff said. “When there are some risk factors, of course, those are things that detectives look at very carefully.”
Police believe Trammell was fatally stabbed at another location before being placed in the trunk and moved to the apartment complex.
Monday afternoon, detectives were looking through surveillance footage at the apartment complex to see if it shows the trunk being left by the dumpster.
“Apparently there is some surveillance video in that complex but it’s just in the front and back,” Woodruff said. “Apparently it doesn’t specifically cover the area in question here.”
The wooden trunk and anonymous note have each been taken in for forensic investigation. Detectives are urging anyone with information to call Lawrence Police at (317) 545-7575 or Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.
