Sureel Dabawala Schaumburg, Illinois woman found dead in the trunk of her own car. Cause and nature of death yet to be revealed. No arrests made.
An Illinois woman missing since late December has been found dead in the trunk of her car on Chicago’s West Side.
Sureel Dabawala, 34, was reported missing by her family after she failed to return to her Schaumburg home Dec. 30, according to an alert from Schaumburg police. The family said she had gone to a local gym, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Dabawala was described as being 5-foot-6, weighing 138-pounds with brown hair.
On Monday, her body was found wrapped inside a blanket in the trunk of her Lexus vehicle around 8:34 p.m., Chicago police said. The car was found by private investigators hired by Dabawala’s family, FOX 32 reports.
Not immediately clear was how long the Lexus had been parked at the location of where it was found, nor how the victim came to be placed int the vehicle’s trunk.
After finding the missing woman’s vehicle, investigators called Chicago police as well as Dabawala’s father — who had a key to the vehicle and was able to open the trunk, according to the Chicago Tribune where a macabre discovery awaited.
Endangered missing person
Authorities did not say whether they suspected foul play in the case, citing a continuing investigation. The nature and cause of death had yet to be understood pending further testing.
Dabawala had been considered an ‘endangered’ missing person because of a medical condition, police added.
A police spokeswoman said the initial report didn’t mention any type of trauma on the victim’s body. She was last seen driving in the Lexus.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed the body was Dabawala on Tuesday morning, while an autopsy was scheduled later Tuesday to determine a cause of death.
Dabawala’s sister told the Chicago Tribune that she had an outgoing personality and was highly educated.
‘This is someone who had her MBA from Loyola,’ her unnamed sister told the outlet. ‘She was a very smart girl, a very lively person. It’s just devastating.’
The deceased had worked for her parents’ medical practice.
To date no arrests have been made as area detectives continue to conduct an investigation into the deceased woman’s death.
