PREBLE COUNTY — A woman found dead in a ditch off Cox Road near Paint Road in New Paris on Sunday had possible trauma to her head and had carpet fibers on her body, according to an incident report obtained by News Center 7.
The body of Autumn Davis-Lowery, 33, was found Sunday afternoon by two people who were out driving to look at fall scenery.
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According to the incident report, Lowery had been released from the Randolph County Jail eight days before her body was found. She had been held there on a warrant. Detectives said they believed her body had been in the ditch for about 24 to 48 hours before it was discovered.
“Just to the left of her head was what looked to be a strand of tan/brown colored carpet,” deputies wrote in their report. “There also appeared to be some of these carpet fibers or perhaps the jute backing of carpet on the back of her shirt, which led us to believe she had at some point been wrapped in or near some carpet."
The report showed Lowery had a history of using drugs, which included her arrest by Richmond Police in August after she had overdosed.
Her cause of death remains under investigation.
Supplemental narratives in the incident report show deputies have been interviewing people as recent as yesterday to help figure out where she may have been prior to being found in the ditch.
Wesley Pfenning, from Los Angeles, was visiting her mother in Richmond. She said they were out for a drive when they saw what turned out to be Lowery’s body just off Cox Road, near Paint Road, less than a mile from the Indiana line.
“We didn’t know how long she had been there,” Pfenning said.
She called 911 reporting the discovery, waiting for first responders to arrive.
Pfenning told News Center 7′s Sean Cudahy this has been on her mind since Sunday.
“You just wanted her to be at peace from whatever happened to her,” she said.