Woman Found Burned With Rope Around Neck In Middle Of Road

A passerby said he found a woman naked and severely burned with a rope around her neck in the middle of a Muskingum County road on Sunday.

The 29-year-old woman was found along state Route 208 near Steel Hill Road, between Dresden and Adamsville.

The unidentified woman told witnesses that she had been raped.

Investigators said that they found a crime scene in the woods nearby and believed that she had been tortured there.

Bureau of Criminal Identification investigators collected evidence, including gas cans.

The woman was taken to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she was in critical condition with fourth-degree burns to the majority of her body.

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said that his department was questioning people in connection with the crime.

“This is one of the most gruesome things I’ve seen in 23 ½ years in law enforcement,” said Lutz.

Lutz said that he did not believe the crime was a random act.

"There was a vehicle that we were looking for that interested us,” Lutz said. “We found that last night in the Canton area. There are some people of interest to us that we are looking for.”

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