Human head, hands found in Colorado freezer ID'd as those of teen missing since 2005

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News on Oct 12, 2024

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The head and hands of a person found inside a freezer at a home in Colorado earlier this year are those of a teenage girl who disappeared nearly 20 years ago, authorities said Friday.

The victim has been identified as Amanda Leariet Overstreet, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The teen, who was last seen in April 2005, was the daughter of the previous owner of the home in Grand Junction, about 240 miles west of Denver.

Earlier this year, deputies were called to the residence on the 2900 block of Pinyon Ave. for reports of a “suspicious incident.”

The new residents of the recently sold home said its previous owners had left a freezer behind for free. They then offered the appliance to another person, who went over to claim the freezer and discovered what appeared to be human remains inside.

On Jan. 18, 2024, the sheriff’s office confirmed the remains found in the freezer were those of a human.

On Friday, after a nine-month investigation, authorities officially identified the victim as Overstreet, who was believed to be approximately 16 years old when she disappeared.

While she hadn’t been seen or heard from since April 2005, the teen was never reported as missing, officials said.

According to Mesa County Coroner Dean Havlik, DNA analysis helped confirm that the “human head and forearms with hands attached” belonged to Overstreet, who was a resident of both Grand Junction and Harris County, Texas.

“The remainder of the body has not been recovered at this time,” Havlik said in a news release. “The manner of death is being investigated as a homicide.”