For five years, a Pennsylvania mother didn’t change her phone number in hopes that her missing daughter would contact her.
Last week, Maria Caldwell received a phone call no mom wants to get.
Authorities in Gwinnett County identified Caldwell’s daughter, Jessica Manchini, as the human remains found in a suitcase dumped along I-985 in 2016, AJC.com previously reported.
MORE: Remains found 3 years ago in suitcase in Gwinnett ID'd as 29-year-old woman
Caldwell spoke to Channel 2 Action News on Wednesday, devastated by the discovery that was only made possible by new camera technology.
“It’s just hard to grasp,” she said. “Her life was way too short, and I know someone did this to her. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
RELATED: Remains found in suitcase in Gwinnett belong to a woman
Manchini, who was 29 years old when the remains were discovered, moved to Gwinnett County for the last few years of her life, Gwinnett police previously said. Caldwell told Channel 2 her daughter lived at The Reserve at Gwinnett Apartments off Graves Road, but after she didn’t hear from her for a while, she reported Manchini missing in December 2014.
“Every day of my life, I have worried about her,” Caldwell said.
The suitcase containing the remains was found just north of Buford Drive on July 29, 2016. During the investigation, police released a sketch in an attempt to identify the remains, saying they belonged to a woman in her 20s.
RELATED: Police release sketch of woman found in suitcase along I-985
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
There was a tag on the suitcase, but the text on it couldn’t be deciphered until this year, when a new camera allowed investigators to make out most of Jessica’s name and a Pennsylvania address.
“Without this camera, we would not have been able to do this,” Gwinnett Crime Scene Unit investigator Kari Carpenter told Channel 2.
Her cause of death is still unknown, but police have said there was foul play involved. However, police have not confirmed this is a homicide case, since detectives said it’s possible someone used the suitcase to conceal her death after she died naturally.
Based on the decomposition of the remains, authorities believe she died in early 2016.
MORE: Clothing found with human remains in Gwinnett
“I just hope she didn’t suffer, because that’s what is killing me,” Caldwell said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that somebody murdered her. I think Jessica just trusted too many people.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help the family pay for Manchini's funeral expenses. As of Monday afternoon, the page had raised more than $3,600.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 770-513-5300 or contact CrimeStoppers at 404-577-8477 or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com. Tips can be sent anonymously and information that leads to an arrest and indictment in this investigation can earn tipsters up to $2,000.
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