Port Orange PD: Still Unclear How Murder Suspect Died

Posted

Port Orange, FL - The Port Orange Police Department formally confirms the death of a suspect in the gruesome murder of a 32-year-old woman over a week ago, but it's still not clear how he died.

Autopsy results announced today (September 4th) show that the body found in a wooded area near the 2500 block of West International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach last Friday morning is that of 37-year-old Thomas C. McMullen Jr.

"The autopsy proved inconclusive regarding the exact cause of death," stated a POPD press release. "However, toxicology results are pending at this time."

It normally takes around 6 to 8 weeks to complete those tests and get the results.

McMullen's body was found around 11 a.m. last Friday (August 31st) close to the Waffle House near Interstate 95. At the time, POPD said it appeared that he had committed suicide, but officers did note at that point that autopsy results would be needed to fully confirm that part.

Where his body was discovered is also not far from where Daytona Beach police had located a maroon 1998 Buick Regal sedan that he had allegedly used to flee his father's house near All Children's Park on the night POPD found Diana M. Kessler (right of photo below) dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.

Officers confirmed a few days later that Kessler had been stabbed over 100 times and also had "blunt force trauma" to her head.

POPD also named McMullen a suspect in her death at that point, but the motive still remains unclear.

Over $10,000 has since been raised on GoFundMe to cover Kessler's funeral expenses.