La Puente : Woman a Homicide Victim

An unidentified woman, whose body was found burned beyond recognition in a car that had slammed into an apartment wall last week, died of multiple stab wounds before the crash, a coroner’s spokesman said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators first thought the cause of the woman’s death was accidental. Her body was found in a stolen 1971 Volkswagen that crashed at 8:30 p.m. last Thursday into a block wall behind an apartment complex in the 14300 block of East Amar Road and burst into flames.

“We don’t know who was in the car; we don’t know why she was killed,” Sheriff’s homicide Detective Ron Lancaster said. “We need help.”