Remains of woman found outside city

Authorities in Edgecombe County continue to investigate the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman Monday just outside Rocky Mount.

A resident working in a field off Seven Bridges Road called the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s office around 4:30 p.m. after he stumbled across the remains, deputies said.

Authorities would not comment about the investigation, other than to say the remains appear to be that of a small-framed, black female.

This is the fifth body of a black woman that has been discovered in that area since 2005, when Melody LaShae Wiggins' body was found on May 29.

The body of Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 34, was found Aug. 17, 2007, behind an abandoned residence on Seven Bridges Road.

The body of Ernestine Battle, 50, was discovered March 14, 2008, by a farmer in a wooded area off Seven Bridges Road while he was taking down an electric fence on his property.

The remains of Taraha Shenice Nicholson, 29, was discovered March 7 by a group of people riding ATVs in a wooded area along Marriott Farm Road. Knight said the cause of death was strangulation.

All of the cases remain unsolved.

An investigation is ongoing, Sheriff James Knight said, and more information will be released as it becomes available.