Woman found dead in industrial area identified as missing teen

The room where Alston was found is leased to a man who is a person of interest and has not yet been identified, police said.

A woman found dead in west Phoenix on Thursday has been identified by police as 18-year-old Jaelynn Alston, who was reported missing a week ago, the Phoenix Police Department said Friday.

Officers responded about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16 to an industrial area near 43rd Avenue and Indian School Road where a foul odor was reported as coming from a room inside a building in the area, police said.

There, police found Alston, who was dead and had extensive injuries to multiple parts of her body, police said. She was reported as a missing person on Jan. 9, said Phoenix police spokesman Detective Luis Samudio.

Samudio said she is believed to be from Phoenix because that’s where relatives filed a missing person’s report with the Police Department.

The location where Alston was found is in an industrial area, and the owners of the building lease the rooms to various businesses, Samudio said.

Samudio confirmed for The Arizona Republic that the building at 4155 W. Whitton Ave. with an “Arizona USA Christian University” sign on the front is the building where Alston was found. However, the incident is not related to the university but rather one of the other businesses in the same building, he said.

The room where Alston was found is leased to a man who is a person of interest and has not yet been identified, police said. Samudio said police have not yet located him.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Phoenix police at 602-262-5151. To remain anonymous, call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377).