MEMPHIS, TN – Memphis police say the body of a man who was found under a sofa during an apartment fire has been identified.
According to investigators, 76-year-old Otis Pinkins was discovered dead in his apartment in South Memphis Thursday, September 17, 2009.
Memphis firefighters were called to the Valley Forge Apartments in the 3600 block of Hillbrook Road, around 10:15 a.m. Police say the apartment manager called the fire department after seeing smoke that was coming from one of the units.
Fire investigators say it took crews about eight minutes to put out the small fire. When the firefighters went back inside the apartment to investigate, they discovered the body of an African-American man that was under a sofa in the den/living room area.
Memphis police spokesperson Karen Rudolph says during the investigation, homicide detectives determined that the man had been shot at least once. Rudolph says investigators are waiting for the Medical Examiner’s report for the exact cause of death, however the case has been ruled a homicide.
Memphis police ask anyone with information about this homicide to call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
