Body found on the road, police investigating possible murder

The body of a woman found on a road in the Ponderosa Peninsula community near Townsville, North Carolina, is being investigated as a possible homicide.

Details about the incident are sparse.

Sgt. B.J. Mull, spokesman for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, said that at approximately 9:06 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13, deputies were called to 459 Bonanza Trail in Clarksville to investigate a report of a person lying in the roadway not breathing.

When MCSO Sgt. Neil Clayton and Cpl. Anthony Desantis arrived at the scene and found a woman lying dead in the road. She was later identified as Tina M. Ruby, 56, of Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Her body was sent to the Richmond Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the official cause of death.

According to Mull, a crime scene was then established and MCSO investigators remained on scene for approximately four hours collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.

Residents living near where the body was discovered who asked not to be named said they believed the woman was helping someone move into the area, but provided no other information.

Mull said the suspect, Frank Saverino Monte, was arrested on unrelated charges and is currently being held at the Meherrin River Regional Jail. Mull did not say whether Monte was involved in the homicide investigation.

According to the Virginia Court of Justice Case Information System, Monte was arrested on Jan. 14 and charged with possession of a firearm while possessing a Schedule I or II controlled substance.

Mull said the case remains under investigation.