TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A body found floating in the Indian River near Titusville was identified Friday as 24-year-old Jennifer Hedges, who deputies say was beaten to death before her body was dumped in the water.
Hedges' body was found Thursday by a boater. The Brevard County sheriff's dive team recovered the partially submerged body, which deputies said was intentionally placed in a manner to conceal the victim.
Homicide agents and crime scene investigators searched the area for evidence. Deputies said she was murdered after being beaten in the head with a blunt force object.
"I walked into the river in what I thought was a dead manatee, but then walked up up the river bank and saw it was a person," Fred Hillenbrandt told Local 6.
Hillenbrandt said Hedges was wearing a bikini top and shorts.
Investigators said Hedges was last seen alive Wednesday afternoon near the intersection at South and Brown streets. Based off of recent arrests, deputies said they are investigating if prostitution played a role in her death.
"Right now it's retracing her habits, her life, what she was doing the last 24, 48 hours before she died. This will be a legwork finding people and piecing together her activities to try and come up with suspects," said Maj. Tod Goodyear. "Hopefully the community can help us and lead us to whoever was trying to hurt her."
Hedges was from Titusville, deputies said.
Anyone with information about Hedges' death is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
Deputies initially identified the woman as Jennifer Hedgens.
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