Barking dogs lead to discovery of abandoned body outside gas station, NC sheriff says

A body found outside a rural gas station was left there in the middle of the night by a motorist, according to investigators in eastern North Carolina.

The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office has not yet revealed a cause of death for 37-year-old Lijena Victoria Hickman of New Bern.

Her body was found around 6:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at The Travel Store on Clarks Neck Road outside Washington, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Washington is about a 110-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

Hickman was traveling with Saraya Dejana Richardson, 24, prior to ending up in the parking lot, officials said. Richardson was also found at the gas station.

“The two females are known to each other,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Detectives discovered that a vehicle occupied by Hickman and Richardson arrived at The Travel Store at approximately 3:40 a.m. It appears Hickman was deceased shortly after pulling into the store’s parking lot.”

There is no record of Richardson making a 911 call to report the death, officials said.

A neighbor of the store called 911 more than two hours later after being “awakened by barking dogs,” the sheriff’s office said.

Richardson was arrested and charged with one felony count of concealing/failing to report a death, officials said. She was out on bond at the time of her arrest.

This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 6:25 AM with the headline "Barking dogs lead to discovery of abandoned body outside gas station, NC sheriff says."