SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Police are still investigating almost a month after a body was found in a burning vehicle in Springdale. But the victim has now been identified.
According to Captain Jeff Taylor with the Springdale Police Department, officers and firefighters responded to a vehicle fire at a home on Collins Avenue around 4 a.m. on June 14.
After they arrived on the scene, first responders found four vehicles on fire parked in the driveway of the residence.
Once the fires were extinguished, crews found a body in one of the vehicles. The person has now been identified as 36-year-old Benton Lather. Cpt. Taylor says they are still waiting on autopsy results for the manner and cause of death but says initially that the body was "burned beyond recognition."
“We look at any death as a potential homicide investigation until we can prove otherwise. So, we don’t necessarily have any indication that there is any foul play, but we can’t rule that out at this point either,” said Taylor.
No other injuries have been reported.
"It's horrible news, especially because we see them every day and we know them you know so we are concerned to see what they would happen and how they are how the kids are, we know the kids really close so that's what we were mainly concerned about," said neighbor Norma Cerda.
No other information has been made available at this time.
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