By Bugle Staff
The Will County Sheriff’s Office released the identity of a body discovered last week inside of a burning vehicle in Joliet Township.
Dental records identified the body as Joseph M. Jaquez, a 31-year-old Aurora man, who authorities say died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
Officers responded to a report of a car fire near Patterson and Brandon roads just after midnight on July 14. The East Joliet Fire Department extinguished the fire and discovered a body inside the trunk of the 2016 Dodge Charger. Initially, the body was so badly burned that authorities were unable to determine if the victim was male or female.
Following an autopsy, the Will County Coroner’s Office determined that the cause of death was a single gunshot to the head.
The sheriff’s office said it is investigating the death as a homicide and asking anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Jaquez leading up to the incident to contact the investigations division at 815-727-8574.