Police tape
A Minnesota man who lived in a house with the decomposing bodies of his mother and twin brother for about a year said he could not bring himself to report their deaths to authorities, Oct. 7, 2017. Reuters/ Max Whittaker

UPDATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 10:25 p.m. EDT:

WBZ, Boston's CBS affiliate, reported Tuesday that the discovered body was burning when an Attleboro officer found it, mistaking it for a brush fire. State police are aiding Attleboro police and the Bristol County District Attorney's office in the investigation. The death is being treated as a homicide.

The body has not been identified and an autopsy was scheduled to take place Tuesday. International Business Times has reached out to the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III, and has not yet received a response.

The body was discovered only a few feet off of a residential road in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

“We’ve been receiving reports of drug activity, hand-to-hand drug transactions,” said Attleboro Police Kyle Chief Heagney to WBZ. “The street is adjacent to I-95 and Exit 3, so it’s convenient for people who are going to meet up and exchange drugs to get off the highway, meet up in this quiet residential area, do their drug transaction, and leave.”

This is a developing story.

Original Story:

A burning body was discovered on the side of a residential road in Attleboro, Massachusetts early Tuesday morning. Police discovered the body around 3 a.m. The victim is male and has not yet been identified. The death is considered suspicious and is being investigated by the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III. The body was discovered near major highway I-95.

“The officer got out and initially thought it was a brush fire. Subsequently, walking up to the wooded area, saw the body and the adjacent fire in the area. So, I can confirm that the body was burned and it was on fire,” said Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney to Rhode Island television station WPRI.

Quinn’s spokesperson Gregg Miliote told the Boston Globe the body had burn injuries, but authorities are not certain the small brush fire was connected to those injuries, contradicting Heagney’s account.

This is a developing story.

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