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Hialeah Police Believe Occupants Were Shot Before Being Burned In Car

HIALEAH (CBSMiami) – As first reported by our news partners at El Nuevo Herald, police have now released a possible motive in the case of human remains found in the trunk of a burned out car.  Hialeah Police clearing some major hurdles and identifying one of the victims.  Now they can trace back the victim's steps, leading them closer to solving this fiery mystery.

Ash by ash investigators uncovered clues about this incinerated vehicle found early Monday morning.

"It's still an ongoing investigation.  We have to be prudent about how much we say because were looking for killers," said Carl Zogby with the Hialeah Police Department.

Friday Hialeah Police released new information about who was in the vehicle and how it's believed they died.

Zogby told CBS4's Jamie Guirola, "What we thought were human remains were indeed human remains, more than one."

Homicide detectives confirming charred remains of two people were found inside the burnt Mercedes.  They belonged to a man and a woman.

"We know who the male is. We feel very strongly, very confidently that we have identified him. We aren't revealing his name yet. We're following a couple of other leads in this case," said Zogby.

As for the woman investigators are still not able to make an identification.

"We have some leads.  We think we are going to know who she is but we haven't confirmed anything yet which is instrumental to this case in knowing who we're dealing with," said Zogby.

Investigators also say the the fire was definitely not the cause of death.

"We know this isn't a suicide-homicide type thing, a murder-suicide this is no accident," said Zogby.

Hialeah Police said the two victims had signs of trauma and gunshot wounds which leads them to believe they were shot and killed.  Their bodies placed inside the vehicle, then driven to an industrial location, setting it ablaze, trying to destroy the evidence.  But, the Police Department said its on the killers trail.

"I don't know somebody must have decided that this looked like a quiet out of the way place to do that and they didn't realize this is one of the major police departments in South Florida and we have one of the best investigative units around and your're not gonna get away with it,"Zogby said.

It does not appear the victim has any connections to Hialeah except being brought there to be dumped. Investigators are working around the challenges of charred evidence.  They are also making advances in the case with the FBI's help and looking at missing persons reports.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

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