Police identified the victim as 67-year-old Lorretta M. Moody while detectives continue investigating how she died and reached the station.
WICHITA, Kan. — Police have identified a 67-year-old woman whose body was found inside a suitcase brought to a Wichita fire station, as homicide investigators continue interviewing people and trying to reconstruct the events surrounding her death.
The Wichita Police Department identified the woman Friday as Lorretta M. Moody. Her body was found Wednesday evening after two people arrived at Wichita Fire Station 22 with a suitcase and told fire personnel that a body was inside, police said. Investigators have not announced an arrest, disclosed Moody’s cause of death or explained what connection the two people had to her.
Fire department personnel requested an urgent police response at about 6:25 p.m. Sept. 16 at Fire Station 22, 2659 S. Hydraulic. Officers opened the investigation after finding Moody inside the suitcase. She was pronounced dead at the station, and her body was later taken to the Sedgwick County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to Wichita police.
Police initially withheld Moody’s name while investigators sought fingerprint confirmation of her identity. Authorities said Thursday that the woman had previously been reported missing. Wichita police confirmed Moody’s identity the following day and said the circumstances of her death remained under investigation as a homicide.
The two people who took the suitcase to the station were interviewed by investigators, police said. Authorities have not publicly identified them, described them as suspects or announced charges against either person. Detectives have said they are working to determine how Moody and the people who brought the suitcase to the station were connected.
Investigators, patrol officers and crime scene personnel worked through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Police said teams interviewed numerous people, processed evidence and canvassed the neighborhood around the fire station. Detectives also began working to identify other locations that could be connected to the case and additional witnesses who may have information.
The case presents investigators with several major unanswered questions. Police have not said where Moody died, when she died or how her body came to be inside the suitcase. Authorities also have not publicly disclosed what evidence led them to investigate the death as a homicide. The medical examiner’s findings, including a cause of death, had not been publicly released as of Saturday.
Police said there was no information indicating an ongoing threat to the public. That assessment came as detectives continued to develop a timeline of Moody’s final movements and review evidence collected during the investigation. Authorities have not publicly named a suspect or identified a possible motive.
Local reporting showed investigators remained focused on establishing what happened before the suitcase arrived at the fire station. Police said Friday that detectives were continuing to conduct interviews and review evidence. Officials have said additional information will be released when it can be made public without compromising the investigation.
The investigation remains active under Wichita police case number 26C179314. As of Sept. 19, no arrest had been publicly announced, and police had not released Moody’s cause of death or further details about the two people who brought the suitcase to Fire Station 22.
Author note: Last updated September 19, 2026.