ELKHART - Jessica Marie Starr, 26, of Elkhart died as the result of a homicide, Elkhart County Coroner John White said Wednesday evening. An autopsy was completed Wednesday.

"The manner of death was homicide," White said. "The cause of death is up to the sheriff's department to release."

Starr's body was found shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday outside a home at 28765 Melody Lane, off C.R. 5 north of the Indiana Toll Road. The victim's roommate called police because she heard a woman screaming.

Investigators for the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department continued to examine evidence Wednesday in connection with Starr's death, said Capt. Jim Bradberry, the department's public information officer. Other than that, there was nothing new to report, Bradberry said.

Starr had been staying in the Melody Lane home with a woman and her 6-year-old son off and on for several months, a neighbor, Star Snedeker, told The Elkhart Truth on Tuesday. Snedeker and Starr worked at the same Elkhart factory, Snedeker said. She also said that Starr was trying to remove herself from "a bad relationship."

Lt. Travis Adamson of the sheriff's department said Tuesday that police have a person of interest but declined to identify the person. Police searched for evidence early Tuesday in Starr's car and in a nearby field, neighbors reported.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Connelly Chapel, Wagner Family Funerals, Cassopolis, Mich.