Antioch Police investigate suspicious death of Pittsburg woman found in car trunk, Friday
By Acting Lieutenant Tom Fuhrmann, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau
On Friday, March 18, 2016 at 4:22 p.m. Antioch Police were dispatched to the 2200 block of Belle Court after a man called police and said he had discovered his ex-wife, Cheryl White, age 50 of Pittsburg, deceased in the trunk of his car. Officers responded and confirmed this to be the case. The car was a green, 1992 Toyota Camry.
Due to the suspicious nature of the death, investigators were called in to take over the investigation. The man reporting this stayed on scene and was cooperative. He was brought to APD and interviewed.
According to him, he originally left her to sleep in the passenger compartment at about 3:00 a.m. after they had used some drugs together. He knew White had moved to the trunk to sleep as he had checked on her at about 12:30 p.m. and she was then in the trunk of the car. She was fine at that time, but wanted to continue to sleep so he left her alone. He told investigators she had done this (slept in the trunk) on occasions in the past and that she likes to sleep in there because she felt safe and won’t get harassed.
There were no immediate signs of foul play visible on White and her ex-husband was not arrested. An autopsy performed Monday (3/21/16) did not reveal any obvious cause of death. Further testing is being done in an attempt to determine the cause. Those results could take weeks, at the least. Once all reports are in, this case will be sent to the Office of the District Attorney for review.
No other information will be released at this time. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Antioch Police Detective Dee at (925) 779-6884. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.
