Badly decomposed body found in duffel bag in SeaTac identified as Utah woman

SEATTLE -- The badly decomposed body found in a duffel bag outside a SeaTac apartment building was identified Thursday as a 23-year-old Utah woman who was visiting the area.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said the remains were that of Jenna K. Ferguson and that her estimated time of death was July 20. Her body was discovered in the bag a week later, on Monday, July 27.

The King County Sheriff's Office said her death is still being investigated as a homicide.

The sheriff's office said she was last seen July 7 or 8 at the Gethsemane Ministries Church in Seattle and that she was in visiting the area to attend a church-based rehab center.

Below is the earlier Q13 FOX News story and video:

SEATAC, Wash. – Police are searching for clues at a grizzly crime scene after an apartment complex employee discovered a badly decomposed body stuffed into a suitcase and left near a trash container.

The discovery was made at about 8:30 a.m. Monday morning at the Abbey Ridge Apartments.

King County sheriff’s deputies don’t know if the body is male or female because of the level of decomposition. Detectives are investigating the case as a homicide.

Neighbors can’t believe something so gruesome happened in their community.

“It was like big ol' suitcase, like you can put a dog body in there as big as it was,” said Sanel Karic.

Detectives are still building a timeline to piece together exactly what happened. No one is certain right now how long the body had been sitting there.

“It could have been here for several days; it could have been here overnight. Again, we just don’t know,” said sheriff's Sgt. Stan Seo.

The grizzly crime scene has neighbors worried about safety.

“That’s just crazy to think about, somewhere I’m so close to had that happen,” said neighbor Trevor Mott.

Police are cross-referencing missing person cases to try to find a match – but they won’t be able to put a name to the body until the medical examiner completes an autopsy and identification process.