A woman whose decomposed body was found in the backseat of a car in the parking lot of a West Covina supermarket last week was identified Wednesday as a 36-year-old Irvine resident, and police said her death was not the result of a homicide.
The body, identified by the coroner’s office as Samira Girma, was found shortly after noon Aug. 25 after someone noticed a foul odor coming from the car, which was parked in a Stater Bros. lot at 365 N. Azusa Ave.
Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said an autopsy was conducted, but the cause of death was deferred pending the results of toxicology tests.
West Covina Police spokesman Brian Daniels said, however, the woman’s death was not a homicide.
“There were no signs of foul play,” Daniels said.
An Uber sticker on the gray, four-door Volkswagen led detectives to contact the ride-hailing service, but Daniels said the woman’s death “was not related to any Uber-related incident.”
Kayla Whaling of Uber said company officials “are devastated to learn about Ms. Girma and extend our deepest thoughts to her family as they mourn the loss of their loved one. We appreciate the West Covina Police Department‘s work on this situation.”
—City News Service