PALM BAY, Fla. – A 22-year-old Palm Bay woman who witnessed a double homicide two years ago has been identified as the body found in the trunk of an abandoned car in a neighborhood early Tuesday.
The woman, who police said suffered some type of obvious trauma before her remains were left in the car, was identified as Jillian Christine Kusznir. An autopsy is being conducted as detectives and forensics investigators work to pinpoint the last whereabouts of Kusznir, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
Detectives are also working to release surveillance footage that could show a man walking away from the parked car sometime around 5 p.m. Monday. Police were familiar with Kusznir, who in December, 2013, was involved in what initially was investigated as a deadly home invasion.
That incident happened at a home in a northwest Palm Bay neighborhood just off of Emerson Drive. Police said Kusznir, along with two men identified as Sean Pino and Dylan Kane, turned up at a house along Thuringer Street.
Kusznir first went into the home around 1 a.m. for an unspecified purchase and then went back outside to tell Pino and Kane about her conversation with the resident.
The two men then ran into the home with weapons, prompting the resident to pull out a gun and shoot both of them. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The state attorney’s office later reviewed the shooting and determined that the resident’s actions were justifiable. No charges were filed in the case and Kusznir was allowed to go, authorities reported.
Tuesday, Palm Bay police and fire rescue personnel received a call from a business owner in the area about a suspicious vehicle just after 7 a.m. The silver car sat parked near the intersection of Vienna and Norman streets in the southeast section of the city, just east of Interstate 95.
The trunk was partly open and police found Kusznir's clothed body inside.
"Officers arrived on scene, they saw the trunk was ajar, they opened the trunk and found a woman's body inside," said Sgt. Michael Pusatere of the Palm Bay Police Department.
Police believe whatever happened to Kusznir, a 2011 graduate of Melbourne High School, took place at another location and she was then moved into the trunk and abandoned with the vehicle.
Hours before the release of her name, Kusznir's friends took to social media to spread the word of her death. Several posts included expressions of shock at the news.
"This sickens me. She didn't deserve this kind of cruelty at all! Rest in peace..." posted one person identified as Rashad Davis a few hours after the body was found.
Angel Jones also wrote: "Please if anyone has any information come forward. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE??? Rest in peace you beautiful woman, and you will never be forgotten."
Investigators are searching for the man seen in surveillance video.
Police said the vehicle was not registered to Kusznir.
According to public records, Kusznir has a history of arrests related to theft dating back to 2014.