Woman's body discovered behind west Charlotte church

CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) - A death investigation is underway after a body was found behind a west Charlotte church Friday morning, police said.

The body of a woman was discovered around 9:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29 on Griers Grove Road just behind East Stonewall AME Zion Church.

The pastor tells FOX 46 Charlotte a man was cutting grass on their property when the woman's body was found. The pastor said at first the man thought the horrific discovery was a dead deer.

"He was cutting, there's some boulders at the back of the church, and he was trimming. He initially smelt something and uh as he looked, he couldn't identify it, thought it might have been a deer or something. And then he went and got the foreman. The foreman came and they identified it as a body and at that point called 911," the pastor said.

FBI agents in Norfolk, Virginia are looking into whether or not the remains belong to that of Ashanti Billie, a Virginia Beach woman who has been missing for about two weeks, the Southside Daily reports.

"We are aware of the situation regarding human remains found in Charlotte area, but there has been no positive identification at this time," FBI spokeswoman Christina Pullen said. "We are looking into it but can't confirm anything."

Billie, 19, was last seen entering Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story around 5 a.m. on Sept. 18. She was reporting for work at a sub shop but never arrived. She also missed her scheduled college classes, according to the FBI.

Later on Sept. 18, Billie's cellphone was found in a dumpster near the corner of Tallyho Terrace and Azalea Garden Road in Norfolk. On Saturday, police found Billie's Mini Cooper in the 9500 block of Lakeside Drive.