Authorities in Georgia are investigating the death of a missing lady as a homicide.
Shekema Toran, 36, was last seen in Augusta, Georgia, on July 31, according to a missing person poster released by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the sheriff’s office, she was driving Barritz Martin’s white 2004 Ford F-250 with Georgia license plate RJW-1158 to the Atlanta region. The authorities did not identify Toran and Martin’s relationship.
Four days later, on August 4, a deceased body eventually identified as Toran was discovered roughly 140 miles west in Decatur, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, according to a public information officer with the DeKalb Police Department who spoke with PEOPLE on Friday, August 9.
According to WRDW, authorities discovered the woman’s body inside a car parked in a Kroger parking lot. The circumstances of Toran’s death were not immediately evident.
Toran’s mother said in a statement acquired by WRDW that after her daughter disappeared, she received strange text messages that “do not sound like her daughter.”
Police say the matter is being probed by the Homicide Assault Unit.
“A suspect has been identified, and warrants have been obtained, but we are unable to release their names at this time,” the officer stated in the statement.
Toran was a mother of three small children, according to a GoFundMe account started by family members to help with burial expenses.
“Shekema was deeply loved by her family and friends and made an impact on this community,” the note accompanying the donation states.