Colorado Springs police and the Homicide Unit investigate charred human remains that were found Wednesday morning on Gold Camp Road
/ FOX21: Mike Byrum
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado Springs Police officers said they've identified a body found near Lower Gold Camp Road on Wednesday.
Officials said the victim is 87-year-old Kathryn "Kit" Grazioli of Colorado Springs.
Grazioli's body was found around 2 a.m. on Captain Jack's Trail Head.
The El Paso County Coroner's Office said the manner of death has been ruled homicide, but the final cause of death will not be released until the autospy investigation is completed.
Officials arrested 21-year-old Marcus Smith of Colorado Springs for the murder in the first degree.
They arrested him around noon on Friday.
No additional suspects have been identified and are not being sought.
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Original story:
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The Homicide Unit is investigating after human remains were found early Wednesday morning on a dirt road in Colorado Springs.
According to Colorado Springs Police officers, the remains were found on Captain Jack's Trail near Lower Gold Camp Road just after 2 a.m.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department had received a call of a fire in the area and discovered the remains upon arrival.
The police department was notified, and the homicide unit arrived at the scene a short time later.
Authorities said due to the fire, the gender and identity of the body cannot be established at this time.
"That's something that the coroner's office will be able to tell us once they do the autopsy," Barbara Miller, Public Information Officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said.
CSPD is hoping the El Paso County Coroner will be able to identify the person so they can start piecing together what happened.
"Once we know who the victim is our investigators will start working their investigation from that point, who that person may have associated with, who the family members may be, when the person was last seen, and that will all help develop their case," Miller said.
The homicide unit is investigating but police said it's too early to determine if a crime occurred.
"Right now all we know is we have a dead body. Once the coroner's office does their autopsy then we'll know whether it was a homicide," Miller said.
Still Miller said it's a tragic situation.
"You think that was a person at one time who had a life and enjoyed life more than likely, and to end up in a dirt area in a remote location is just very sad," Miller said.
Officers are urging anyone with information about this incident to call the police department at 719-444-7000.
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