Missing woman dead in van

Brian Day posted this Friday night about a missing Covina woman who turned up dead in a van:

POMONA - Family members of a missing Covina woman found her dead inside a van parked at a courthouse, officials said.

Eileen Nicole, 22, was discovered shortly after 11 a.m. Friday in the parking lot of Pomona Superior Court, said Pomona police Detective Rick Baker.

She was reported missing to the Covina Police Department Wednesday, he added.

Officers initially responded to a call reporting a van illegally parked in a parking space reserved for police only, Baker said.

Officials realized the license plates on the van were connected to a reported missing person, Baker said, but the van appeared to have simply been abandoned so officers called the registered owner, a family member of Nicole, to pick up the van.

The van's owner and several other family members arrived to get the van and discovered Nicole's body underneath a blanket, clothes, and other items, Baker said.

The cause of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner, Baker said, however evidence indicates the death was a homicide.