What we know about the investigation of human remains found burning in Cary fire pit
Since a woman’s remains were found in a backyard fire pit in Cary, police have slowly released details about the grisly discovery.
Tuesday, police released a recording of a 911 call from a neighbor who reported an illegal trash burn at 618 Dorset Drive in southwest Cary.
They also released the name of the person the remains belonged to: 34-year-old Cecily Anne Walker, also known as Cecily Anne Walker-Scott.
Questions remain about 35-year-old Ian Delauder, the homeowner found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an RV at the scene Sunday morning after the fire was extinguished.
Police said Thursday that he died from his injuries and was a suspect in Walker’s death.
A second unidentified woman was found on the property unharmed, a news release stated.
Here is what we know and don’t know.
When was the 911 call made?
Police say a neighbor called 911 at 7:04 a.m. Sunday, March 19. The unidentified caller told the dispatcher they could see a “huge plume of smoke” behind a 5-foot fence.
After firefighters arrived, they found the woman’s remains in the debris as they were putting out the fire, Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Kenric Alexander said.
Firefighters called Cary police to the scene after they found the body.
Police have not charged anyone.
Who do the remains belong to?
Walker was identified as the person found in the fire debris Sunday, a news release stated.
Initially, police were not able to tell the gender, race or identity of the body. The remains were sent to the Office of the Medical Examiner for further investigation.
Walker’s death has been ruled a homicide. Cary police have not released information about how she died or when.
They have not described the relationship between Walker and Delauder and the third person found unharmed on the property.
Walker was a mother of two young children and worked as a waitress, according to her online obituary. She enjoyed being outdoors.
A host of Walker’s family and friends have taken to Facebook to express their sadness. She is preceded in death by two of her uncles, recently, and her father, Randy Louis Walker.
She will be buried on Monday in Roxboro.
What do we know about the homeowner?
According to police, the residents of the home were staying in RVs on the property as it underwent renovations.
Delauder was living in one of the RVs parked in the driveway, said two neighbors who did not want to be named for privacy concerns.
They saw Delauder consistently working on the home for months, replacing the roof, doors and windows.
But he stopped working on the renovations about one year ago. He continued to live inside the parked RV.
Delauder was found inside the RV on Sunday with a life-threatening injury from a single gunshot, a news release stated.
He was taken to a hospital, and on Thursday afternoon, Cary police confirmed he died. Delauder’s death is ruled a suicide.
Officers have visited the Dorset Drive address 21 times since 2018 for welfare checks, an armed robbery, drugs, a car fire and to serve a warrant, The News & Observer reported.
Who was the second person found at the home?
A woman at the home Sunday was taken in for questioning, a news release stated.
Police said she was unharmed but have not released her name or said how she might be connected to either Delauder or Walker.
Colleen Hammond and Aaron Sánchez-Guerra contributed to this report.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
This story was originally published March 21, 2023 at 3:08 PM.