Maryland

3 Men, Teen Arrested After Body Found Inside Burning Car

Two of the suspects were arrested in North Carolina, police say

Three men and a teenager have been arrested and charged in the murder of someone found dead inside a burning car in Woodbridge, Virginia, police say.

Firefighters in Prince William County were called to Veterans Park the morning of Thursday, March 15 for a report of a vehicle fire inside the park. When they arrived, they found a car fully engulfed in flames. 

Once they extinguished the fire, they found a body inside the car and called police.

The next day, Prince William County police arrested 21-year-old Manuel Enrique Robles Lopez, of Manassas, and charged him with being an accessory to murder. On March 17, police charged a 17-year-old with murder and he is being held at a juvenile detention facility, police said. The teen is from Woodbridge, police said.

Members of the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force arrested two other men, 23-year-old Erick Alexander Contreras Navarro, of Manassas, and 19-year-old Denis Ludwin Espinal Alvares, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, in Wilson, North Carolina on March 20.

Detectives have preliminarily identified the victim, but a medical examiner is doing more DNA analysis to confirm the identity.

Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the victim's death and the fire.

On March 14, another body was found in a burning car more than 40 miles away. 

Firefighters found the woman's body while responding to a call about a brush fire in a wooded area of Germantown, Maryland.

The victim in the case has not been identified. 

Police have not said whether they believe the two cases are connected. 

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