Remains May Be Woman’s

A severely decomposed body discovered in the trunk of a car is believed to be that of a 59-year-old north San Gabriel woman who had been missing for more than three weeks, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

The county coroner has yet to determine an identity, but sheriff’s homicide detectives say there are “strong indications” that the woman is Donna Lee Kelley, who was last seen at her home in the 7200 block of Jackson Place on March 24.

The body was found in the trunk of the missing woman’s car Thursday evening as Kelley’s daughter and her boyfriend prepared to wash the vehicle. The two pulled the car into the parking lot of the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, near the border of Altadena and Pasadena, when they noticed a foul odor, detectives said. The boyfriend unlocked the trunk and discovered the body about 6 p.m.

“How she got in the trunk or whether someone put her there -- that’s what we’re trying to figure out,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Ray Peavy. “It could be foul play to suicide or anything in between.”

Neighbors told police that they hadn’t seen the woman for weeks and grew suspicious when they saw newspapers piling up at her door and her car still parked in front of her home.

Neighbors contacted some of the woman’s friends, who entered her apartment and found nothing wrong, detectives said. An adult daughter was out of town and learned of her mother’s disappearance when she returned April 1. Three days later, the daughter filed a missing person’s report.

The daughter, who has not been named, told investigators that she was trying to put her missing mother’s affairs in order and decided to wash the car Thursday evening. Peavy said it was not clear why the pair were driving near the park, an area with no car washes.

“There are a lot of questions that don’t have answers right now,” Peavy said.