Remains found at Palm Bay Compound identified as those of Satellite Beach woman
The skeletal remains found scattered in the tall grass of an area known as "The Compound" have been identified as those of a 26-year-old Satellite Beach woman, Palm Bay police reported.
Police said the woman, Cassandra Janelle Blackmon, was known to frequent the Palm Bay-south Brevard area. The Compound is frequently used by off-roaders and urban explorers. Palm Bay city council members have discussed the area made up of ragged roads and overgrown private property, including proposals from residents to close it off.
The Oct. 7 discovery of the sun-bleached bones — possibly several weeks old — launched the fifth death investigation at the vacant wildland since December when two teens, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old, were fatally wounded in what police said was an unrelated homicide case. In the latest case, Blackmon had not been reported missing and had recently been under a court-ordered injunction not to return to the home where her parents lived, records show.
Detectives are still awaiting final autopsy results which could provide details on what caused the woman’s death, when she died and how she ended up in the abandoned, 12-mile plot of overgrown filled with debris, trash and memorials in the southwestern part of the city. There were no bicycles or cars located in the area where the body was located, adding to questions of whether someone may have brought the woman to the location.
“We’re still trying to figure all of that out, how she got there, when she got there — we just don’t have the answers,” said Lt. Mike Rogers of the Palm Bay Police Department.
Police did not identify who found the bones and a skull, but said the remains were spotted in the tall grass near Cormorant Avenue and Absher Way. The bones, along with the soil beneath them and other possible evidence found at the scene, were turned over to the Brevard medical examiner's office in Rockledge for further examination. Investigators are also reviewing several license plate readers from the Compound.
More: Crime, deaths and desolation: Palm Bay City Council set to discuss troubled 'Compound'
The overgrown area has a history of being a dumping ground and cover for criminal activity, from drug use to homicide. Following the December 2022 discovery of the dead teens, Palm Bay police were at the site again in March after the burned, dismembered remains of a missing 44-year-old Indian Harbour Beach woman were found scattered across the Compound. An arrest was made in that case.
More: Mom seeks answers in double homicide as Palm Bay police search for suspect
In September, police located the body of a 30-year-old man in the Compound. Two people, who police said met the man at a gas station and drove with him to the remote area, were arrested in the case and charged in the homicide.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X/Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Remains found at Compound identified as those of Satellite Beach woman
