The Atlanta police homicide unit and fire department arson squad Friday were investigating the slaying of a person who was possibly burned alive in the trunk of a car.

Police dispatchers said the four-door car was discovered burning about 2:30 a.m. behind the AutoZone store in the 600 block of Cascade Avenue in West End.

After the flames were doused, firefighters found a body in the trunk. The body had been so badly burned that investigators don't yet know whether it was a male or female.

Calling the death a "gruesome murder," Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows said, "it appears that the victim might have been alive at the time that the fire was set."

Meadows said detectives had been unable to get a vehicle identification or tag number off the car, "so it's still unclear who the vehicle even belonged to."