California law enforcement are looking for a “person of interest” after finding the body of a 27-year-old school teacher in the trunk of a car after an explosion and fire in a Lancaster garage.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was looking for Matthew Switalski, 37, who is “wanted only for questioning at this time,” according to KCAL.
Police told KABC that Switalski owns the home where the body was found but did not confirm reports from neighbors that the homeowner was the woman’s boyfriend and that he rented out rooms in the house to several people.
Police said they were called to the scene of the fire shortly after 8 a.m. in Quartz Hill, north of Los Angeles near the city of Lancaster. A neighbor said they heard a woman’s “blood-curdling” scream at about 2 a.m..
Investigators said there was some type of explosion before the fire.
A man who said he was the victim’s uncle declined to identify his niece but said she taught school in Palmdale, KCAL reported. The school called the family when she didn’t arrive at work Wednesday morning. He said she had been involved romantically for about a year but didn’t know much about the man.
Police said they were waiting on the medical examiner to identify the victim and provide cause and manner of death.
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[Featured image: KCAL screenshot]
