Police face questions after a woman’s body is found in a police van in Alabama

(CNN) — Authorities successful Huntsville, Alabama, are facing questions surrounding the find of a woman’s assemblage successful the backmost of a seldom utilized constabulary van successful a constabulary parking lot.

A constabulary serviceman discovered the assemblage of Christina Nance connected Oct. 7 successful an unoccupied constabulary van successful the backmost country of a parking batch astatine the Huntsville Public Safety Complex, Huntsville Deputy Police Chief DeWayne McCarver said successful a quality briefing Friday. Her household had reported her missing Oct. 2.

“The serviceman noticed shoes adjacent to the van and approached, discovering Ms. Nance’s assemblage inside. Windows connected the van were observed to beryllium opened and connected this benignant of van they popped outward,” helium said.

McCarver told reporters it’s section argumentation to support those vans locked.

“All metropolis vehicles should stay locked immoderate clip they are not successful usage oregon occupied,” helium said. “Sometimes, you conscionable person to accidental that was thing that shouldn’t person happened. It did.”

Investigators person been poring implicit information footage from the parking batch trying to portion unneurotic what happened, McCarver said. Investigators yet determined Nance entered the van September 25 astir 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET).

During the quality conference, McCarver walked reporters done grainy surveillance footage, highlighting Nance’s movements connected September 25 and the days pursuing arsenic she opened and closed the windows of the van.

“Ms. Nance is observed successful the video, walking astir the parking lot” connected the 25th, McCarver said. “She lays down successful the bushes astatine immoderate constituent (and) she sits connected the hood of a constabulary car for immoderate time. She approaches different cars successful the parking lot. … And this each happens for astir 10 minutes earlier she enters the van.”

Investigators noted the past clip Nance opened the windows, successful what McCarver described arsenic a precise engaged parking lot, was September 28, the lawman main said.

“Cars spell by, radical locomotion adjacent the van. We conscionable privation that she would person hollered retired to idiosyncratic oregon something, due to the fact that determination were plentifulness of … what we spot arsenic imaginable opportunities for this to not beryllium a tragedy. And unfortunately, nary 1 was capable to recognize she was successful that van and that was the outcome,” McCarver said. Officers are successful and retired of the batch 24 hours a day, 7 days week, helium added.

The van was purchased successful 1995 arsenic an inmate transport vehicle, McCarver said. It was repurposed by the section successful the aboriginal 2000s for grounds proscription and has not been utilized since March, McCarver said. Because the conveyance was designed for inmate transport, erstwhile the backmost doors are closed, determination is nary mode to unfastened them from the inside.

McCarver said authorities astatine this constituent “have nary thought of knowing what her authorities of caput was, what was going connected there.”

Madison County Coroner Dr. Tyler Berryhill said nary foul play oregon bodily trauma was detected during an autopsy conducted Oct. 12, a quality merchandise from the constabulary section said.

“The authoritative origin of decease volition beryllium ruled by the State Medical Examiner erstwhile further studies, including toxicology, are complete,” the merchandise says.

The Huntsville Police Department has travel nether scrutiny arsenic Nance’s household and advocates question however and wherefore she was capable to stay undetected wrong an authoritative conveyance parked successful specified a highly trafficked country for 12 days.

McCarver said constabulary person treated this arsenic a transgression probe from the opening and that investigators were initially delayed by the household giving an incorrect day for the past clip they said they saw Nance.

McCarver besides said the department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers “know her beauteous well.”

“They person worked with her successful the past to supply resources and antithetic things,” helium said. “We are acquainted with her — precise acquainted with her.”

The household was capable to presumption the surveillance video Friday up of the media briefing, McCarver said, reiterating the section is committed to moving done this nonaccomplishment alongside Nance’s family.

“The video was not wide capable to bespeak that that was our sister Christina Nance,” Nance’s sister Whitney Nance said. “It was conscionable precise heartbreaking to cognize that we didn’t get the clarification that we truly needed, that we wanted.”

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump — who has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among different Black victims who suffered excessive unit by the constabulary — issued a quality merchandise Oct. 13 announcing helium would beryllium representing the Nance household arsenic the probe unfolds.

“We volition get to the information of what happened to Christina Nance, the young Black pistillate recovered dormant successful the constabulary van successful beforehand of the Huntsville Police Department. We assistance up Christina’s household with supplication arsenic they mourn this devastating loss,” Crump said.