Mississippi authorities ID severed head, decapitated torso

JACKSON, Miss. – Authorities in Mississippi’s capital city believe a severed head and a decapitated torso belonged to the same person.

The Clarion-Ledger reports (http://on.thec-l.com/2tdWsgE ) the victim was identified on Monday as 30-year-old Jeremy Jerome Jackson. Both body parts were discovered separately on Saturday in Jackson. The headless torso was badly burned.

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart says authorities were able to get a positive fingerprint match from one that hadn’t been burned. She says the head had no distortion so facial recognition wasn’t a problem. She says DNA also may be tested.

Jackson police chief Lee Vance says the head was discovered on a home’s porch hours before the body was found in a field about a mile (1.5 kilometres) away.

Vance says the FBI and other federal agencies are helping investigate.

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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com