MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A man, previously indicted for murdering a St. Paul teen and stashing her body in the trunk of a car, is now a suspect in a similar murder of a 24-year-old woman, according to police.
Authorities said Alberto Prece Palmer, 24, is currently in custody in Anoka County for the death of 18-year-old Brittany Clardy. He’s now accused of killing 24-year-old Klaressa Lorayne Cook.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a body found inside a vehicle at Wrecker Services, Inc. in Minneapolis around 11 a.m. on May 20.
During the investigation, it was determined that the woman’s body, later identified as Cook, was inside a vehicle that was towed from the Rainbow Foods parking lot in Brooklyn Park. Police said the vehicle was towed on April 11.
Police are saying very little about Cook’s murder. They say it was employees who noticed a smell coming from the vehicle and eventually found Cook’s body inside but are not saying how she died. The autopsy released by the medical examiner does not reveal a cause of death.
According to her Facebook page, Cook is originally from Athens, Georgia and had been living in Minneapolis.
Police said Palmer is a suspect in her murder but won’t say why.
Palmer was previously charged with first-degree homicide in a separate case in April, after 18-year-old Brittany Clardy’s body was found in a vehicle that was towed to a Columbia Heights impound lot. In that case, the vehicle was towed in February.
Court documents say Palmer told police he met Clardy through an ad on the website backpage.com. He told authorities he had sex with Clardy then choked and beat her with a hammer. Her body was found Feb. 21 in a car covered in a blanket.
Records show Palmer had outstanding warrants from Georgia for beating another woman he had also met through the backpage.com website.
Palmer is originally from Georgia, as is the latest victim Cook. It’s not clear if the two knew each other in Georgia.
