Gwinnett police request public's help in murder investigation

Gwinnett Police released new details in what is now a homicide investigation Tuesday, but much about the case remains a mystery.

A passerby found a burned body along a wooded trail behind a gas station near Duluth Monday morning, near the intersection of Satellite Boulevard and West Liddell Road.

"That person indicated he was walking through the trail, he saw a person who appeared to have been on fire," Gwinnett Police Cpl. Collin Flynn told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes. "He was no longer on fire when he called 911, but that person appeared to be deceased."

The Medical Examiner determined the unidentified male was murdered, shot at least once.  His body so was so badly burned, police are unable to provide a physical description as they search for his killer.

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"We believe there are people out there who know exactly who this person is and the circumtances surrounding what happened to him." 

Early in the investigation it's unclear whether the victim died along the trail, or how long the body was in the woods. Cpl. Flynn said the  area behind the gas station leads to an apartment complex, and people often go back there to hang out and drink alcohol.

" Obviously we don't know if anyone else had been back there and seen the body prior to this person calling 911. Investigators are trying to look through surveillance, speak with witnesses to try to determine if anyone else saw the body back there." 

Detectives  are still trying to confirm the victim's identity and are asking anyone with information in the case to contact Gwinnett Police or Crime Stoppers.

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