Cause of Death “Undetermined” in Jenna Lord Case

Woman's badly decomposed body makes determining cause nearly impossible, ME says

Investigators will most likely never know what killed a young mother from Delaware County.

Jenna Lord, 23, went missing following a family barbeque over the 4th of July holiday. Her body was discovered almost two weeks later in a vacant lot in Camden, N.J.

It was members of her own family who found the woman's badly decomposed body in the heavily overgrown lot along 5th Street in Camden Sunday evening.

An autopsy was unable to determine what killed Lord because her body had rapidly decomposed, said the Camden County Prosecutor.

"It is unclear exactly when Lord died, though when her body was found she was wearing the same clothes as she was seen wearing on July 5, the day she was reported missing," officials said in a statement.

The medical examiner said the elements -- including the extreme heat and rain recently -- contributed to the severe decomposition of Lord's body. The state of the body also makes it impossible to run toxicology tests, officials say.

Investigators say although Lord's cause of death may never be known, they were able to rule out foul play.

The investigation is ongoing.


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