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Crime & Safety

Dental Records Needed To ID Body

A woman burned to death in an SUV on July 4 outside a Valrico home at Cape Cod Circle. She did not live there, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives are awaiting dental comparisons to identify a woman who was burned to death in an SUV fire in the Greater Brandon community of Valrico.

Reportedly, the woman, who is believed to have been in her early 40s and a Hillsborough County resident, was found inside a burning SUV in the driveway of a home at Cape Cod Circle just after 8 a.m. July 4.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office further reported that the woman did not live there.

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No information about the woman's identity has been released.

“The homeowner received a knock at the door and did not answer,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman J.D. Callaway. “He did not answer and a few minutes later heard explosion and saw a Mercury Mountaineer on fire in the driveway.”

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The resident reportedly used a fire extinguisher and a garden hose to combat the fire, but to no avail. He was joined by a sheriff’s office deputy minutes later, who unsuccesfully used a fire extinguisher from his patrol care to aid the effort.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived minutes later and was able to put the fire out, Callaway said.

Detectives are still trying to determine the exact manner and cause of death in the case. The investigation is continuing.

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