Dead Woman Found in Freezer Revealed to be Former Homicide Detective

The body of a former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detective has been found inside a California garage freezer.

Miriam E. Travis, 87, was found dead in a Riverside home on Sunday after concerned out-of-state family members contacted the police when they did not hear from her for a while, according to ABC7.

When officers arrived at the home earlier that day, they found Travis' 64-year-old daughter, Carol, who also lived at the home with her mother.

The network added police became suspicious when alleged inconsistencies in the story she told them emerged.

Officer Javier Cabrera told ABC7: "Once they began speaking with the daughter, there were some inconsistencies with her story as to her mom's whereabouts.

"The officers detained the daughter and ultimately went inside the residence."

Police described the home as being disheveled, similar to hoarder conditions, according to the network.

It was during their search of the house that officers located Travis' body inside a freezer in the garage.

Cedric Valentin, who said he had known Travis for 18 years, said had not seen her in months and recalled one day when he asked Carol where her mother was.

He told ABC7: "It's pretty sad, pretty sad, especially because it's little old Miriam. When I told Carol. 'Where's Miriam,' and I would yell out, (she would yell) 'Oh. she's in the house."

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a statement shared with the network: "Our hearts are broken by this news and the entire LASD family mourns her loss."

Carol had been questioned by authorities but was later released. An autopsy into Travis' death is set to be carried out to determine how she died.

Local investigators had been looking into whether Travis died of natural causes before her body ended up in the freezer.

According to ABC7, Travis had worked at the LASD for 27 years and was a detective sergeant when she retired from the force in 1990.

Newsweek has contacted the LASD and the Riverside Police Department for comment.

In July, Virginia police arrested the parents of a child whose body was found inside a freezer in their Chesterfield home.

The child was later confirmed to be that of Eliel Adon Weaver and police determined he was under five years old when he died.

Officers also believe that he had been in the garage freezer for upwards of two years.

Chesterfield Police (CP) Major Mike Louth told WTKR: "It's taken a little bit of time to get us to the point right here just for the fact that this isn't your typical type of investigation.

"We have human remains that had been in a freezer for approximately a year and a half to two years.

"So, you know, we needed to have an autopsy done, and they worked really well with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. They brought in some specialists, some forensic anthropologists to help us out on this."