The FBI has confirmed that remains found behind a Charlotte, North Carolina, church on Friday belong to a missing Virginia Beach teen.
“It is with deep regret that I inform the community that Ashanti Billie has been located, deceased, in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said in a statement on Saturday.
“I, along with the entire investigative team, offer our most sincere condolences to the Billie family, especially Ashanti’s parents Brandy and Tony. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
READ More: BREAKING: Body found behind church believed to be missing teen Ashanti Billie [UPDATE]
Ashanti Billie's family publicist will make a statement from the parents tonight on #13NewsNow pic.twitter.com/tL1jK4Cjmu
— Megan Shinn (@MeganShinn) September 30, 2017
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is now investigating the 19-year-old’s death as a homicide. However, information about how she died is unavailable at this time, according to WRC.
Billie was reported missing on September 18 after not showing up for work at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach. Authorities said they found her phone in a dumpster four miles from where she vanished, CrimeOnline previously reported.
On September 23, volunteers found Billie’s Mini Cooper five miles from her job with no sign of the teen. Surveillance cameras supposedly captured the vehicle leaving the base but it’s unclear who was behind the wheel.
On Thursday, volunteers reportedly located hair braids, a pink shoe, and a sweatsuit near the dumpster where her phone was found.
ORIGINAL Story: Police: Virginia Beach college student missing, phone found in dumpster
On Friday morning, a landscaper spotted Billie’s body behind the East Stonewall AME Zion Church in Charlotte, North Carolina—300 miles from where she was last seen, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
With the body positively identified, Culbreth says they’re now committed to finding the teen’s killer.
“Our mission is to bring justice for Ashanti, and we will be relentless in our efforts to find who did this to her,” he concluded.
“We will not rest until the person who robbed Ashanti of her life, her promise and her future is held fully accountable under the law.”
[Featured Image: FBI]
