Investigators Rule Homicide

BROOKSVILLE - A woman who was found dead in the woods Tuesday morning was the victim of a homicide.

Signs of foul play were evident on the body, according to Deputy Donna Black, the sheriff's spokeswoman, but she didn't elaborate.

Investigators believe the woman has been dead longer than 24 hours, but her remains were not skeletal. Black called it a recent death.

Investigators released a description of the woman Wednesday in hopes of finding someone who knows her or how she died.

They said the body found alongside Brooksville Rock Road was a black woman between the ages of 20 and 40. She stood between 5-feet-3 and 5-feet-7 and weighed anywhere from 130 to 150 pounds.

Her braided hair had extensions about 8 1/2 inches long and was dark brown with purple coloring toward the ends. She had four earring holes in her ear, but only three pieces of jewelry were recovered: A square, clear stud; a small yellow gold hoop; and a small silver and copper hoop with dolphins.

Black said her tattoos had a distinctive design.

On the left top wrist area was the name Jeremy or Jimmy in Old English-lettering and a star on either side of the name. The word Libra, also in Old English, was found on the top of her right foot. Her other foot had unrecognizable tattoos.

While the cause of death is fairly clear, it's unknown whether she was killed here or dumped in the woods. Detectives are combing through local missing person records and sending out the woman's description to agencies around the nation.

The woman was found about 25 feet east of Brooksville Rock Road, a rural stretch of road in north Hernando County off Citrus Way. A CSX railroad worker made the discovery after smelling a foul odor.