BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Disturbing details are coming to light in the murder of 31-year-old Jermiera Fowler.
An initial autopsy revealed Fowler was shot to death, then her body was burned and dumped in east Birmingham. Officer Truman Fitzgerald with the Birmingham Police Department says her body was discovered around 9 p.m. Thursday.
”It’s very disturbing what they did to this poor girl. Extremely alarming and this is an incident that doesn’t appear to stem from any prior interactions to our knowledge,” Fitzgerald said. “A lot of our shootings stem from a victim who knows a suspect and vice versa and this is one of those cases where we just don’t know at this point.”
Fitzgerald said investigators are looking into reports that the mother of two was last seen leaving her home to meet someone and pick up an item she’d purchased on Facebook Marketplace.
”We can’t confirm that this was in fact due to Facebook Marketplace but we also can’t rule it out,” Fitzgerald said.
Marc Berkman, head of the Organization for Social Media Safety, urges everyone who uses social media sites like Facebook Marketplace to always exercise caution.
”I would really highlight for consumers, approaching these transactions with people that you don’t know, not reputable sellers, approaching those with caution. That’s true with all our other behaviors on social media as well,” Berkman said.
Birmingham Police Department encourages anyone with information on this case to call Crimestoppers at 205-254-7777. You can remain completely anonymous.