Officials confirmed Thursday that the body of an Alabama woman who disappeared in February was recovered in Bessemer.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a lawn cutter made the grisly discovery off of the 4200 block of Turin Drive, near Lakeshore Parkway. According to Bessemer police Lt. Christian Clemons, someone wrapped the body up and hid her under an old mattress in an area where people frequently dump off garbage.
Al.com reports that authorities identified the victim as 30-year-old Tiffany Osborne. The case is being treated as a homicide. So far, no suspects have been named.
Tiffany Osborne’s boyfriend told police that she left her Midfield home on February 27 to go to the store. She never returned home. Midfield Det. Michael Jeffries said Osborne was reported missing from the Fairfield Highlands area of Midfield, by her boyfriend.
Osborne was the mother of three children, including a 3-month-old baby. Family members said it was highly unusual for Osborne to be gone this long without checking in.
“She hasn’t even reached out to check on the baby and that’s our biggest concern,’’ Jeffries said last month. “No one has heard from her.”
Jeffries added that the store would have been closed at the time Osborne supposedly walked to it, and the people who worked at the store that evening never saw her. She also left without her cellphone.
Tiffany’s mother, Cathy Smitherman told Dateline that Osborne would “would never just walk out on her children” and “would never not let anyone know where she’s going.”
Within the past four months, at least two other missing women were found deceased in Jefferson County. As CrimeOnline previously reported, 29-year-old Paighton Houston was found in a “small hole” behind a Hueytown residence in January, after she disappeared from a reported night out with friends.
Houston’s death was listed as an accidental drug overdose. Police arrested Fredrick Hampton, of Brighton, after he allegedly hid Houston’s body behind a relative’s abandoned home. He’s been charged with abuse of a corpse.
In February, authorities found the remains of 38-year-old Karen Joyce Scott inside a manhole in Bessemer. An autopsy confirmed that Scott was killed. Her case remains unsolved.
Anyone with information should contact the Bessemer police at 205-923-7575, the department’s tipline at 205-754-3559 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Tiffany Osborne/Police Handout]
