A man walking his dog through a field in Stafford County on Sunday came upon the body of a 35-year-old Prince William County woman about an hour after she was reported missing, and her death is being investigated as a homicide, authorities said yesterday.
A preliminary autopsy determined that the woman, Lisa Madaris of Woodbridge, died of blunt trauma to the head, authorities said.
Lisa Madaris of Woodbridge was last seen a week ago.
(Courtesy of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles)
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Investigators have questioned several acquaintances and family members, but no arrests have been made, said Maj. David Decatur, a spokesman for the Stafford County Sheriff's Office.
Madaris was last seen alive driving away from Brittany's Restaurant and Sports Bar in Woodbridge about 9 p.m. last Wednesday, Decatur said. He said she was at the bar with a group of people but was seen leaving alone.
The dog walker found Madaris's body in a lot off Telegraph Road in the northeastern part of the county, a little more than an hour after a family member reported her missing to Prince William police, authorities said.
The discovery deepened a mystery that began about noon Thursday, when a worker found her fire-scorched car parked on a cul-de-sac at a construction site in the Port Aquia subdivision off Route 1, a few miles from where Madaris's body was found three days later.
Authorities arrived at the construction site and found a beige 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier that was "completely destroyed," Decatur said.
"Everything that could be burned was burned up," he said. Workers told authorities the car was not there when they left at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A records search revealed that the car belonged to Madaris, but the address listed for her was not current, Decatur said.
Stafford and Prince William authorities were still looking for Madaris when a family member reported her missing to Prince William police at 10 a.m. Sunday, said Detective Dennis Mangan, a police spokesman.
At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, a man strolling with his dog in a hilltop field in the 700 block of Telegraph Road found Madaris's body, authorities said. She was fully clothed and had suffered "extensive injuries to the head area and the face," Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett said in a statement. He said it appeared that Madaris's body had been in the spot for a "period of time."
Joe Patonetz, the owner of Brittany's, said no one on his wait staff recognized the woman's name. Without seeing a picture of the woman, he said, he did not know whether she was a regular.
Patonetz said his security personnel did not notice anything unusual last Wednesday.
Madaris lived with her father, Dennis, in his Woodbridge home. Yesterday afternoon, a note posted on the front door of the home asked that all media queries be directed to the sheriff's office. Another note scribbled on an envelope and attached to a side door offered condolences from a family friend.
Alexandria resident Charles Madaris, Lisa Madaris's grandfather, declined to comment yesterday, saying only, "We don't know what's happening."
A neighbor said Lisa Madaris grew up with a group of other children on the street in Woodbridge. She moved out of the family home as an adult but returned recently, the neighbor said.
Decatur said investigators are following up on several leads and have not determined a motive in the slaying. Authorities asked that anyone with information contact the Stafford County Sheriff's Office at 540-658-4400.
"I feel confident that we're going to solve it," Decatur said.
