Lily Belle Burk, 17, was found dead in the passenger seat of her black Volvo 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

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The teenager had left her home in Los Feliz at 2 p.m. to pick up some papers for her mother at Southwestern University School of Law in the Westlake area. Burk had called each of her parents late on Friday afternoon asking how to get cash using her credit cards at an ATM. That was the last time they heard from her. Police believe she was murdered later that day and was found near Alameda and Fourth streets in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Detectives investigating the case have indicated that Burk had signs of head trauma and appeared to have been beaten up before she was killed. However, a coroner source recently said that Burk's throat had been cut. Police have arrested 50-year-old Charlie Samuel of Los Angeles, who is suspected of being Burk's killer. Samuel was picked up by LAPD's Metropolitan Division Mounted Unit, for drinking a beer in public and possessing a crack pipe, just 30 minutes after he had allegedly murdered Burk.

Detectives confirmed reports that latent fingerprints collected from Burk's car were those of Samuel, who was supposed to have been living in a drug treatment center. Samuel is currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Jail.