The decomposing corpse of an unidentified woman, dubbed “Jane Doe,” was found floating in the Quintal Lagoon off Chan Chen Road in Corozal District at about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.

A driver of Patchakan told police that he was travelling to Patchakan on the Chan Chen Road when the odor of rotting human flesh aggravated his nose, and when he looked out of his car window, he saw a nude corpse floating on the lagoon.

He immediately called the police. The body was found completely nude – bare of clothes, shoes or jewelry. The area was secured by police and the police coroner, Dr. Mario Estradabran, carried out the autopsy on Wednesday to certify the cause of the woman’s death.

The corpse was buried in the area after the examination was concluded, at about 5:00 yesterday evening.

At the conclusion of the autopsy, Doctor Estradabran reported that the woman had been chopped in the head, which is the cause of death. She was a woman of dark complexion, in her early twenties. Her head was also completely bald, as a result of the decomposition of the body.

Estradabran described the woman as being about 5 feet 5 inches tall and of dark complexion, although the body appeared to be fair due to the effect of the sun on the corpse in the water.

Superintendent Andrew Ramirez, the Commander of Corozal police, said that he saw the corpse and observed the autopsy. The woman had two silver crowns on her front teeth, and her toe nails were painted with yellow nail polish, he said. There were several wounds to her head and face, and the right hand of the corpse had been bitten off, probably by crocodiles in the lagoon, because jaguars or other land animals would not have given those types of injuries seen on the body. This was confirmed by Dr. Estradabran, who indicated that the severing of her right arm was due to a crocodile attack.

Although the woman had suffered severe chop wounds to the head and body, most of the injuries she had received were to the head, which, as Estradabran has stated, was the cause of her death. Superintendent Ramirez said that the woman was more than likely killed elsewhere and taken to the lagoon to be disposed of. Investigators searched the area and no blood was found, which made them conclude that she was not killed in the area.

Police said that no missing person from the Corozal area had been reported.

Corozal police are seeking public assistance in identifying the woman.