Update: Victim identified in Reedley orchard fire that was determined to be homicide
UPDATE: The Fresno County Coroner’s Office identified the woman Wednesday as Gessell Tellez, 32, who was homeless in the Reedley area.
ORIGINAL STORY: A routine report of a fire turned into a homicide investigation Thursday afternoon in Fresno County after Reedley firefighters discovered a body among burning debris in an orchard behind a drug store.
Crews were dispatched at 3:18 p.m. to the field behind the Rite Aid on Manning Avenue at Buttonwillow Avenue on the city’s northeast side, Reedley police said.
Once the fire was extinguished, the body was found.
Reedley police took over the investigation but as of Thursday night said the person’s identity remained unknown. Investigators had yet to confirm even if it was a man or a woman.
“We are treating the investigation as a homicide unless the investigation determines otherwise,” the Reedley Police Department said in a news release.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 559-637-4250. To remain anonymous text in English to 559-356-8990 or Spanish to 559-246-4183.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 8:24 PM.
