Kentucky police ID body found at dumpsite 33 years ago as North Carolina woman

CORBIN, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say DNA testing has confirmed the identity of a body found in a refrigerator at a dumpsite 33 years ago.

Police say in a statement that Espy Regina Black-Pilgrim from Spindale, North Carolina, was the woman found in Knox County in 1985.

Detectives determined her identity after one of her relatives saw a social media post about the unsolved case and called police to say they thought it could her. The statement says police traveled to North Carolina to take DNA samples from Black-Pilgrim's children and the comparison was a match.

On Tuesday evening, Black-Pilgrim's son contacted News 13 after finding out his mother was identified as the mystery woman.

"I love her a lot. She was took too early. I wish she was still here. I'll get to see her soon. Sooner or later," Robert Stanley said.

Police have said the woman may have been trying to get a ride to North Carolina at a truck stop the day before she was killed.

Detectives say the investigation into her death is ongoing.