Young mother left for dead along industrial road

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Early Wednesday morning, police got a call from a salvage yard off Strawberry Lane, a lonely industrial road.

According to Bessler Auto's manager, Steve Morris, most cars they see parked in their lot are junk.

So when he saw a brand new Yukon parked there, he knew something was strange.

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"It was backed in right here," Morris said. "They were going to try to watch the road to see if anything was coming I guess. There's no other reason to back in."

Inside of the vehicle, Morris noticed a woman in the passenger seat. He knocked on the window, but she wasn't breathing.

"She had her seat belt on," Morris told us. "She was leaned over."

That woman was later identified as Teressa McCoy, 27. She was a mother of two who was in Louisville looking to buy a new home.

McCoy had been shot, but police didn't call her death a homicide until Friday, once the autopsy was complete.

"I've been here 30 years, this is the first time for anything like that," Morris said.

The Yukon she was in was taken by police, as well as dark surveillance video from inside the business.

Pictures from the scene showed the vehicle had a license plate, but police haven't released any information about who it belonged to, or any suspects.

While detectives worked on this case from just two days after Christmas, McCoy's family, including her young children, were left to grieve.

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"I've got a son who's 27, one 24," Morris said. "So I could just imagine what they're going through."

Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous police tip line at (502) 574-LMPD.

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