Person of interest in case of woman found dead in plastic bin

UPDATE: The sheriff confirmed early Thursday that they have a person of interest in connection with the Troy Strope case after a search warrant was served at a house on West Buford Street.

“The information we received through our investigation is a possibility she was murdered in that house,” St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May said. “A possibility.”

Sheriff May said during the search warrant execution, they gathered possible evidence of Strope’s murder.

“We got what was ample,” he said. “It doesn’t take but a speck. It doesn’t take much but we think we got ample forensics.”

He would not comment on what items were taken from the house but added, “We think possibly some blood in the residence.”

Strope’s nude, decomposed body was discovered inside a plastic storage “Tote” on February 20 by youngsters on four-wheelers riding on St. Francis County Road 731.

Sheriff May says two brothers live at the Buford Street address. One of them was arrested Thursday on a drug charge, unrelated to the search warrant.

The other occupant of the house was not detained.

“At this time we just don’t have enough evidence to make any arrests,” Sheriff May said. “We certainly haven’t talked to any eyewitnesses.”

Sheriff May also says he knows how Strope was murdered but can’t jeopardize the case by releasing those details.

“Only the person who did it or the persons who were there would know how she was murdered so we don’t want to make that public,” he said.

There is only one crime lab in Arkansas so Sheriff May says it will take a few weeks before results come back on items seized in today’s search.

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Earlier coverage below:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The woman found in a plastic container in Arkansas has been identified, according to the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials say the woman is 42-year-old Troy Alexandria Strope of Forrest City, Arkansas.

Teens find woman’s body in plastic container in Arkansas

Stope’s nude body was found inside a plastic container by two teenagers who were riding four-wheelers on County Road 731, located about five miles away from Forrest City.

“The body was partially decomposed. We think the body had been out there maybe a couple of weeks,” said Sheriff Mays. “Whoever did this had no feeling at all whatsoever for what they had done, no conscience.”

After the youngsters posted about their discovery on Facebook, investigators got a tip on a possible ID from a male saying his mother had been missing for a month.

A DNA sample was taken and sent to the state crime lab to determine the woman’s ID.

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Forrest City Police Chief Ronald Broussard says Strope was frequently seen riding her bike throughout Forrest City.

Broussard says the mother of three was on her way to getting her life back together when it was tragically taken.

“We talk about what a person’s hangups and issues were at death but I can tell you what her life was like — she was always smiling, always upbeat,” he said.

A memorial service for Troy Strope will be held at 4 on Saturday at Colt Baptist Church in Colt, Arkansas.

The death is being treated as a homicide. If you have information, call the Forrest City Police Department or St. Francis County Sheriff.

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