Authorities release name of woman found dead in Bartow County Landfill
BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities have identified a woman whose remains were found dismembered in a Bartow County Landfill last month.
Investigators said the dismembered body of Courtney Nicole Dubois, 20, of West Virginia was found Monday, Aug. 13 by a sanitation worker while emptying a trash compactor. Dubois was reported missing by the Fairmont, West Virginia Police Department.
Investigators were able to use dental records to make a positive identification.
"This is an important step in the investigative process and allows law enforcement to focus specifically on Courtney Dubois from this point and going forward," Sheriff Clark Millsap was quoted as saying in a release sent to FOX 5 News.
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On Sunday, a group of citizens gathered at the Bartow County Courthouse to pray for movement in the case. Pastor Keith Milner joined nearly 20 neighbors, organized through Facebook, to pray for justice and answers to the horrifying scene.
"We pray for this soul, whoever she is, she was loved," Milner remarked during the prayer service.
Neighbors have begun to refer to the woman as "Angel" until her identity is uncovered.
A makeshift memorial was placed at the Bartow County waste transfer station where she was believed to have been dumped.
The Bartow County Sheriff told FOX 5 he has never seen a more disturbing case.
"I've been doing this for almost 35 years and I've never seen anything like this before," said Sheriff Millsap. "She was cut into pieces and they packed all the pieces into individual bags and placed them in one dumpster."
Deputies are not sure when the woman was killed, but they do have an idea of when her body was put inside that dumpster at the county recycling center located on Cedar Creek Road.
"The container that she was in was closed at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday," explained Sheriff Millsap on Aug. 15.
There are no surveillance cameras at that facility, Millsap said.
In addition to the GBI sketch, investigators released an image of the tattoos across the victim's chest. Law enforcement described them as two Easter lilies and a sacred heart.
"It's a very distinctive tattoo," said Millsap. "I doubt if there's many like this anywhere."