DECATUR, Ga. — A woman was found dead on Sunday after her body was found inside of a truck outside of a Kroger in Decatur. But it's the mystery that came across her mom's phone in Augusta four days before that stand out.
On Aug. 4, DeKalb County Police officers responded to a call regarding a suspicious vehicle outside the Kroger along Wesley Chapel Road in Decatur.
Shortly before 10 a.m., as officers approached the white Ford F-250, they discovered a woman's body inside the truck. She would later be identified as 36-year-old Shekema Toran, a mother of three young children from Augusta.
As investigators would soon find out, Toran had been reported missing just days earlier by her mother.
On July 31, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office took a missing persons report on Toran. According to the police report, Toran and her boyfriend of two months, Biarritz Martin, were at her mother's house when an argument happened.
Martin left the home and returned a couple of hours later to pick up Toran. According to the police report, this is the last time Toran's mom has seen or spoken to her daughter.
She told police that she was receiving texts from Toran but told deputies that the text messages "do not sound like her daughter."
According to the report, Toran's mother tried calling Martin, but he never answered or returned her phone calls.
On Aug. 1, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office posted a missing person flyer on Facebook. It not only said she was missing but was believed to be with Martin in his white 2004 Ford F-250 heading to the Atlanta area.
According to the police report, deputies did call Martin, and after some time, he called them back. They requested to speak to Toran, but according to the report, that never happened.
The deputy wrote in the police report that Martin could be heard on the phone saying, "Wake up" and "smacking the dash or seat." The deputy said this lasted about ten minutes before he hung up. The police report said he didn't call back or answer after that conversation.
It would be three days after that missing person flyer was posted on Facebook, Toran's body was found in a truck matching the description of Martin's truck.
On Thursday, the DeKalb County Police confirmed their Homicide Assault Unit was investigating Toran's death. 11Alive reached out to the Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday evening regarding Toran's cause and manner of death, but we have not heard back.
DeKalb County Police said they were not able to confirm or identify any persons of interest as of Thursday evening.
According to an online fundraiser account created to help with Toran's funeral expenses, "Shekema was deeply loved by her family and friends and made an impact on this community as we desperately searched for answers."
