Sheriff says body found in landfill was cut into ‘numerous pieces’

A body found in a Bartow County landfill was cut into pieces, stuffed into bags and dumped at a recycling center, authorities confirmed at a news conference.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

A body found in a Bartow County landfill was cut into pieces, stuffed into bags and dumped at a recycling center, authorities confirmed at a news conference.

The body of a woman found in a Bartow County landfill was cut into “numerous pieces,” Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap said at a news conference Wednesday.

“I’ve been doing this 35 years and I’ve never seen something like this before,” he said.

The pieces were packed into individual bags and placed in a container at the Cedar Creek Collection Center, a recycling facility in Cartersville, according to authorities. They said she had been there since Saturday.

MORE: Bartow sanitation worker finds body part in landfill

On Monday, the container was taken to the Bartow County landfill, where a sanitation worker found one of the body parts while dumping the container, Millsap said. A bottom torso fell out of a bag that had opened.

“Fortunately for us, all the parts were in one location,” he said.

GBI officials are still working to determine the cause of death. In the meantime, the sheriff’s office is cross-referencing missing person’s cases for a potential identification.

No cameras are located at the recycling facility, but Millsap is hoping the distinctive tattoos on the woman will help them with leads. According to officials, the woman has two names tattooed on each of her shoulder blades. She also has a tattoo on her chest.

She is described as being between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-6, weighing 150 pounds with brown or reddish hair. She is believed to be between 18 and 35 years old. Anyone with information is asked to call the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office at 770-382-5050 or the GBI at 706-624-1424.

“Because of the way it happened and the dismemberment, it’s a very disturbing case,” Millsap said.

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