RICHMOND, Va. -- A friendly honk or enthusiastic soccer games may be the norm in this part of South Richmond, but outside the Hickory Hills Community Center was a gruesome crime scene Wednesday night.
Officials were called to the 3000 block of Terminal Avenue just after 10:45 p.m., for a report of a burning car.
When crews arrived, they found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. Once the fire was extinguished, officials said they discovered the bodies.
Two bodies, an adult male and a teen female, were found inside a burning vehicle. Major crimes detectives are reviewing the physical evidence and interviewing family.
The girl has been identified by her brother as 17-year-old Leny Monroy. She had just finished her junior year at Meadowbrook High School.
Police are still working to determine what led to this crime scene. The male was identified as Hector E. Gonzalez-Carabantes, age 20.
Autopsies, conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office, showed no signs of trauma to either person. A determination of the cause and manner of each of their deaths may be made once toxicology tests are completed.
At this point in the investigation, Richmond Police detectives said they have found no evidence of foul play. Arson investigators will determine the cause of the fire.
Friends and family showed up the crime scene Thursday morning and were surprised that Leny was in that part of town that late; they said that she lived miles away. Questions remained that people in the neighborhood and the victims' families hoped to soon have answered.
“This is so unusual,” said longtime resident Freda Carver, who added that she's never seen a crime scene here before Wednesday night. “It’s just a tragic situation.”
“Nobody should ever have to succumb to anything as horrendous as this,” she said.
Leny came to America last year with her father; they joined her brother who had left Honduras years before. She loved to hang out with her brother and loved to dance.
Her parents are still in the Honduras and don't have the necessary paperwork so they won't be able to come to the funeral.
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