PUBLIC SAFETY

Wood chest yields woman’s body in Lawrence

T.J. Banes and Bill McCleery

A woman found dead in a wood chest in Lawrence died of multiple stab wounds, police said today.

Jazmine Trammell, 24, Indianapolis, was identified by relatives after police were called Sunday to Maison Garden Apartments. Apartment staff had received a note saying a body was in a box by a dumpster and sent a security guard to investigate, authorities and a police report said. The guard found the body about 5 p.m. inside a wood chest next to the dumpster.

The woman was stabbed “all over,” said Sgt. Gary Woodruff of the Lawrence Police Department.

Police are aggressively looking for information that could help determine who killed Trammell.

“We could definitely use the public’s help,” Woodruff said. “Someone out there knows something about this.”

Detectives are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying where the wood chest may have come from. The chest, made by Lane, is about 4 ½ feet long and has a leather-covered lid.

Woodruff said Trammell was last seen by family members about 9 a.m. She was not a resident of the apartment complex but may have known residents at the complex, Woodruff said. The apartments at the intersection of East 42nd Street and Post Road are formerly known as Pinnacle Square.

“We do not believe she was killed at the complex. We believe she was placed there,” Woodruff said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Lawrence Police at (317) 545-7575 or Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.

Call Star Reporter T.J. Banes at (317) 444-6815 and follow her on Twitter: @tjbanes.