COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two people are now facing charges after a woman’s body was found burning in Urbancrest earlier this year.
On June 14 around 11 p.m., deputies were called to a wooded area off of Lincoln Road. The Jackson Township Fire Department had responded to the location on a report of a possible brush fire.
When firefighters arrived, they found the remains of 23-year-old Jenay Crawley that had been set on fire. Authorities said it was believed that Crawley died in a different area than where she was found.
An autopsy by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office determined a preliminary cause of death as strangulation.
Crawley’s family reported her missing on June 14 when she was last known to be heading to an apartment on Station Road.
Video surveillance from the area showed several people of interest in the investigation. A witness identified 23-year-old Higle Mire as one of the people in the video.
According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Mire admitted during an interview in June with the sheriff’s office he was in the apartment on Station Road when Crawley was killed.
Mire said he held Crawley's 1-year-old daughter and played loud music to ensure any sounds of the incident weren't heard.
He also admitted to purchasing items to dispose of her body including a gas can, gasoline, bedsheets, a grill lighter and charcoal fluid.
Mire also told authorities he helped place Crawley’s body into a vehicle and going to the location where her body was found. He also doused her body with the fluids and set her on fire.
In July, Mire was indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody at the Franklin County Jail.
A second person, 25-year-old Tiffany Reid, was booked into the Franklin County Jail on a charge of aggravated murder.
According to records, Reid is accused of “purposely and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of Jenay Crawley, to wit: aid and abet in the strangulation of Jenay Crawley, causing her death.”
