Pinyon Avenue homicide victim identified

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. ( KREX ) — The Mesa County Coroner’s Office has identified the human head and hands found in January by the new owner of a recently sold home in the 2900 block of Pinyon Avenue .

Officials have identified the victim of the Pinyon Avenue homicide case as Amanda Leariel Overstreet, a resident of both the Grand Junction and Harris County, Texas areas.

Overstreet was the biological daughter of the previous homeowner and was believed to be about 16 years old at the time of her disappearance; she had not been seen or heard from since April 2005. Officials say there is no record that she was ever reported missing.

“It’s incredibly sad that no one knew she was there,” Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Wendy Likes told WesternSlopeNow. “No one (was) aware or knew she was missing… no one took the time to find out where this child was or what happened to her.”

Overstreet was found after the new owner was cleaning out the property. Likes said the current owner had no connection to the homicide.

“The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office would like to emphasize that the home where the Pinyon Avenue Homicide investigation centered is now under new ownership, completely unrelated to the previous case,” Likes said in an email. “The house was purchased, fully remodeled and sold to the current owner. We urge you to respect the privacy of the current owner and their neighbors and avoid driving by the home or taking photos.”

Likes said this investigation will be long as more forensic testing needs to be completed which takes “an incredible amount of time.”

“I know people think that it doesn’t take that long, but it really does, in order to make sure that we are 100% positive,” she said. “It’s going to take some time, and I would hope that the public would want us to take that time to make sure that we did it right for her.”

The coroner’s office said in a release the rest of her body had not been recovered.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a release, “The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain under investigation.” The forensic testing of evidence is ongoing.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation helped with the investigation, assisting with DNA and forensic testing, Likes said.

WesternSlopeNow is following this story and will continue to update with the latest.

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