Update: Medical examiner unable to determine how woman found in burning car died

The death of a woman who was found in the back seat of a burning car in Andersonville last winter remains a mystery. The Cook County Medical Examiner was unable to figure out how 23-year-old Yasmine Parker died, according to newly-released information.

Her cause and manner of death are now both listed as “undetermined” in county records.

Yasmine Parker | Change.Org

Fire department personnel and police found Parker’s body in the back seat of her burning vehicle, which was parked on the 1400 block of West Farragut around 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 22.

Her car still bore California license plates. She moved to Chicago last August in the hopes of becoming a pharmacist, her father told WGN-TV shortly before Christmas. He said she fell into the wrong crowd here.

Some neighbors said they had noticed Parker’s car on the block for a few days before it burned. Blankets and a few other items were seen inside. A police source said detectives were considering the possibility that Parker was living in the vehicle. The fire may have been started by a candle that was left burning as she dozed off in the back seat, the source said.

But Parker’s father told WGN that he believes she was intentionally killed by a man she hung out with in Chicago.

Officially, CPD classifies the case as a death investigation.

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