Body found in north Gwinnett

By MIKE MORRIS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett County police were working Thursday to identify a body found Wednesday night in a wooded area near Buford.

Enlarge photo

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Gwinnett County Police Officer D.R. Pauly secures a section of a wooded area where Gwinnett County Police investigate the discovery of a body found along the 3600 block of Woodward Mill Road in Buford Thursday, July 16, 2009. Gwinnett Police Cpl. David Schiralli confirmed the discovery, but had no other details on the body, which was found before daybreak in an area along Woodward Mill Road between Suwanee and Buford.

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The body, which was partially wrapped in plastic, was found around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in an area along Woodward Mill Road near Satellite Boulevard, Gwinnett police Cpl. David Schiralli said.

Schiralli said the body was discovered by a resident who was investigating a foul odor in the area. He said it appeared the partially decomposed body had been there for more than a week.

“When investigators arrived, they decided to secure the scene and wait until morning, where the daylight would be more beneficial to properly process any potential [evidence],” Schiralli said.

Schiralli said the crime scene unit arrived on the scene around 8 a.m. and that it had not been determined whether the remains were those of a male or female.

He said he could not confirm media reports that the body had been decapitated.