Possible body in dumpster investigated

Updated, 6:58 p.m.

Prince George’s County homicide detectives are investigating whether a foul odor from a trash receptacle in the Landover area might have come from human remains. Just before 2 p.m., firefighters were called to the apartment complex in the 1700 block of Brightseat Road, very near FedEx Field, to investigate the source of a strange odor, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. They traced the smell to a large trash receptacle and after searching inside, found what they thought was a human body, he said.

As is standard, they turned the investigation over to homicide detectives, he said. At about 3:30 p.m., homicide detectives and evidence technicians were on the scene, snapping photos of the seven-foot-tall, blue receptacle and peering inside.

Just after 6 p.m, Cpl. Larry Johnson, a Prince George’s County Police spokesman, said homicide detectives were unsure if what was in the dumpster "is a body or not." "Whatever it is is so badly decomposed they can’t really make a determination at this point," he said.

--Matt Zapotosky