Woman Left Backpack With Human Remains in Dumpster: Police

Virginia police are investigating a "suspicious incident" after a woman allegedly left a backpack containing suspected human remains in a dumpster.

Chesterfield County Police said in a statement they responded to a report at around 1:50 p.m. on Monday about the woman placing the backpack in a dumpster behind a store several hours earlier. She then entered the store without the bag and left the area afterwards.

"A store employee checked the backpack, saw what appeared to be blood on it and called police," the statement read. "Officers on scene found what appeared to be human remains in the backpack."

Chesterfield police shared two stills from surveillance camera footage of a young woman in a t-shirt and shorts, urging members of the public to help identify her as she or someone else may require medical attention related to the incident.

A police spokesperson later told Newsweek in an email that authorities identified the woman in the photos.

"The female in the photos has been identified," the spokesperson said. "The investigation is ongoing. We have no additional information to release at this time."

WTVR CBS 6 reported the shop in question was a Gabe's department store located in the Victorian Square shopping center in Midlothian, an unincorporated village in the suburbs of Richmond. The dumpster in which the bag was abandoned belonged to a Planet Fitness branch, the outlet said.

The remains were sent to a state lab, according to WTVR CBS 6, and a preliminary conclusion found the remains may be a baby's body, although this was not yet confirmed by a medical examiner. WTVR CBS 6 also reported that evidence in the dumped bag could lead investigators to a local high school.

Police remained on the scene from about 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday afternoon.

In July, Chesterfield County Police arrested the parents of a child whose body was found in a freezer at a home.

Police said the child, Eliel Adon Weaver, was under five when he died and had been kept in the freezer for up to two years.

Conspiracy to Conceal a Dead Body

Kassceen Weaver and Dina D. Weaver were arrested and charged with conspiracy to conceal a dead body and failure to render aid.

Kassceen Weaver was additionally charged with concealment of a dead body, domestic assault and malicious wounding of a woman known to him. Police confirmed the victim in question was Dina Weaver, who was confirmed via DNA testing to be Eliel's biological parent.

Both were later released on bond, and the couple is expected in court on Thursday, according to local outlet WRIC.

Update 9/1/21, 9:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from Chesterfield County Police detailing that the woman had been identified.