Teasha Ariele Colbert, 42, was found dead and "stuffed in a trash can" outside her apartment at the Sanford Arms Apartments in Macon, Georgia, officials said Saturday, and investigators are treating the death as a homicide.
Deputies with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office responded to a missing-person call about 8 a.m. Thursday and entered a unit on Sanford Avenue, where they found Colbert unresponsive, Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said. Jones pronounced her dead at the scene and later told reporters her body had been discovered inside a trash can. No arrests have been made.
Authorities taped off the residential block and combed the area for clues, the sheriff's office said. Colbert's gray Toyota Camry remained parked near her apartment, and items including her purse and a water cup were left inside the vehicle, her younger sister, Sandy, said. Sandy said those details prompted her to call 911 because Colbert would not normally leave home without them.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies had previously responded to a domestic call involving Colbert but declined to release further details about that incident. Officials also declined to identify any suspects as the investigation continues.
Colbert worked as a security guard for Allied Universal. Her sister described her as outgoing and full of life, saying Colbert loved makeup, eyelashes and nails, and enjoyed travel and nightlife. "She was the oldest, but she had the spirit of the youngest," Sandy told the Macon Telegraph. "I just hate that my sister was found in a trash can because I don't want nobody to remember her as trash. My sister wasn't trash."
Sandy said the sisters led different lives but remained inseparable, with Sandy focused on raising her daughter and Colbert pursuing social activities and work. "She was a security guard, she just needed somebody to protect her. Nobody was there," Sandy said.
Investigators continue to examine the scene and seek information as the homicide probe proceeds. The sheriff's office has not released additional details about the circumstances of Colbert's death or any potential motive.