The body of a Google employee has been found murdered and burnt in the woods after she went for an afternoon jog near her mother’s house.
Vanessa Marcotte, 27, was visiting her mother in Princeton, Massachusetts, over the weekend when she went for a jog at about 1pm on Sunday.
The New York-based Google account manager never returned.
Police K-9 units found Ms Marcotte’s body roughly 800m from her mother’s house at 8.20pm on Sunday evening.
She was missing clothes and had burns to her head, feet and hands, according to WCVB-TV.
Ms Marcotte’s father, John, spent hours searching for his daughter until police asked him to stop because he was throwing off the search dogs.
Ms Marcotte pictured with her mother (Image: Instagram/v_marcotte)
“She was a wonderful girl, a beautiful daughter. She was top in her class at (Boston University). I’m just devastated,” Mr Marcotte told New York Daily News.
Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said authorities were unsure if the death was random or targeted.
“We have a horrible set of facts, a horrible set of circumstances,” Mr Early said at a press conference.
“We don’t know if this was a random act. We are asking residents of Princeton and surrounding areas to use an abundance of caution… You can’t be too careful right now.”
Google have extended their condolences to Ms Marcotte’s family.
“Vanessa Marcotte was a much loved member of the Google team, working in our New York office for the last year and a half, and known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work and love of Boston sports. We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends,” Google said in a statement.
