Woman found burned to death with butcher knife nearby as police search for missing car

Texas police are looking for answers surrounding the death of a woman who’s body was found burned by the side of a road in an upscale Austin neighborhood.

The body of Melissa Davis, 33, was located by firefighters responding to calls of a fire on the morning of Sept. 29.

Detectives discovered a lighter in the area, according to local outlet KXAN. A police K-9 was called to the scene and found a butcher knife which had the scent of a lighter, officials said.

Austin police believe “the knife was placed with the decedent in an attempt to destroy the evidence with the fire.”

However, an autopsy showed Davis suffered no signs of obvious trauma to her body or knife wounds and concluded she had been burned alive.

With few clues to go by, police have put out a search notice for Davis’ missing car, a blue 2016 Toyota 4Runner with the Texas license plate number KYV3765.

While there is still no suspect in custody, friends and family continue to hold out hope they can find justice for Davis, who disappeared after a trip to the local Apple store to get her phone fixed.

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Ellie Simmons, who described Davis as “a soul sister,” said her friend was a free spirit who enjoyed traveling with company.

“We actually had dreams together with one of our other friends to start a hostel in Costa Rica and we would have an art station,” Simmons told KVUE. “She loved art.”

David Haisman, another close friend, said he was still in disbelief over Davis’s death, adding she had left him with a painting of a bird flying towards the sun before her death.

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 “I still feel like my heart is breaking. Like I’m being stabbed. Like I’ve been stabbed and I’m bleeding out slowly,” he told the local outlet.

The Austin Police Department did not comment on the case, but said the investigation remains ongoing.

There is currently a $1,000 reward available for anyone who provides a tip which leads to an arrest.