Body found in trunk of BR car

Baton Rouge police are investigating a possible homicide after a body was found in the trunk of a Dodge Challenger early Thursday near the intersection of Beechwood Drive and Evangeline Street, a police spokesman said.

Police went to Vizion’s Barber and Beauty Salon at 9:44 a.m. in response to a call about a “suspicious vehicle” in the parking lot of the salon at 4585 Evangeline St., Cpl. Tommy Stubbs said.

Inside the trunk of the car, police found the body of a man in his mid-20s, Stubbs said. The man had “noticeable trauma to his head,” but officers were unable to determine his manner of death, Stubbs said.

Jason Coates, co-owner of the salon, said he received a phone call from a client at about 8:45 a.m. who said a white Dodge Challenger was blocking the driveway at the back of the building where employees and customers park. Coates said he noticed specks of blood on the front passenger’s side tire.

and along the bottom of the car.

Coates said he arrived after at the business shortly after the call, and one of his clients, an LSU police officer, called 911 to report the abandoned vehicle.

He said he thinks someone might have tried to set the car on fire because there was smoke inside the car and smoke slowly escaping out of the car.

“First time anything like that happened,” Coates said. “It kind of spooked us, especially when they said they had a body in there.”

Stubbs said he could not confirm whether blood was found on the wheel or if there was smoke in the car because it is an ongoing investigation.

Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Barry Mounce said a 911 dispatcher sent units to a reported car fire near Beechwood and Evangeline about 3 a.m., but the units did not find a fire.

Police also have not released the name of the victim, Stubbs said. An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

Anyone with information about this incident can contact police at [phone] or Crime Stoppers at [phone].