Investigators trace steps of killer

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. -- Mount Holly police are now revealing the specific location where a couple found Irina Yarmolenko’s body on May 5.

Her body was lying next to her car in a remote area behind the Water’s Edge Community, and her front passenger door and back passenger door were both open, according to Chief David Belk.

The ignition was turned off, but Belk says there is evidence the front wheels were spinning against a tree stump.

“Someone caused her death. Whether they drove that vehicle down there, I can’t tell you that. Whether they pulled her out of the vehicle, I can’t tell you that either, simply because I do not know. But I know someone caused her death and that’s who we’re trying to find,” said Belk.

The area is close to Interstate 85, but it is private. To access that portion of the river, a person would have to drive through a construction zone and down a steep incline.

Investigators are reviewing surveillance video of Yarmolenko at a credit union and a Goodwill store, but they say there was no reason for her to come to Gaston County.

Belk says they have developed strong leads and they are putting additional staff on the case. They are still awaiting a complete autopsy to find out if she had been sexually assaulted.