“SHE WAS FULL OF LIFE” — FAMILY WANTS LORETTA MOODY REMEMBERED BEYOND HER TRAGIC DEATH

A Kansas family is pleading for answers after 67-year-old Lorretta Moody was found dead inside a suitcase outside a Wichita fire station, with investigators now treating her death as a homicide.

Moody was identified by the Wichita Police Department after two people arrived at Fire Station 22 on the evening of September 16 and told firefighters that a body was inside the suitcase.

More than a week later, no arrests have been announced, and investigators are still working to establish exactly what happened to Moody.

TWO PEOPLE BROUGHT THE SUITCASE TO THE FIRE STATION

At around 6:25 p.m. on September 16, Wichita firefighters requested police assistance after two people arrived at Fire Station 22 on South Hydraulic Street carrying a suitcase and saying there was a body inside.

Officers responded and found Moody inside the suitcase. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police later identified her as a woman who had previously been reported missing.

Investigators have questioned the two people who brought the suitcase to the station, but authorities have not publicly identified them or disclosed their relationship to Moody.

Detectives have been reviewing evidence, interviewing witnesses and working to establish a timeline of events.

Police have also said there is no information indicating an ongoing threat to the public.

HER FAMILY DOESN’T WANT HER REMEMBERED FOR HOW SHE DIED

For Moody’s granddaughter, Alexis Trotter, the circumstances surrounding her grandmother’s death have been devastating.

But she wants people to remember Moody for the person she was — not for the shocking circumstances in which her body was discovered.

“She wouldn’t want to be known as the person who showed up in a suitcase at a fire station,” Trotter said.

Instead, she described Moody as a loving grandmother and great-grandmother who cherished her family.

“She was full of life,” Trotter said.

Trotter said family was everything to Moody and emphasized that her grandmother was more than a name connected to a homicide investigation.

“SHE WAS SOMEBODY’S FAMILY MEMBER”

Trotter is now hoping that whoever knows what happened will come forward.

“She’s not just another person that’s on some cold-case file,” Trotter said. “She’s a human and she was somebody’s family member. She was somebody’s blood.”

The family has also established a fundraiser to help cover funeral and memorial expenses as they prepare to say goodbye to Moody.

$5,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR INFORMATION

On September 24, Crime Stoppers of Wichita and Sedgwick County announced a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in Moody’s homicide.

Investigators continue to rely on information from the public as they work to piece together the events surrounding her death.

No arrests had been announced as of the latest update.

Anyone with information can contact Wichita Police Department homicide investigators at 316-268-4407. Tips submitted directly through Crime Stoppers may qualify for the reward.

For Moody’s family, the investigation is about more than solving a case.

It is about making sure a woman who was deeply loved is remembered for the life she lived — not simply for the suitcase in which she was found.