The body of a woman found badly burned inside a vacant Newark West Ward house on Friday has authorities in Newark investigating.
Firefighters rushed to the scene of a fire that ignited inside a home located in the 200 block of Eastern Parkway, shortly before 6:30 p.m., where firefighters arrived to find thick smoke and flames coming from the upper floors of the house according to preliminary reports.
**ORIGINAL REPORT:** https://www.rlsmedia.com/article/one-desd-newark-west-ward-house-fire
Newark firefighters swiftly knocked down the fire then performed a search of the structure where crews located the remains of the person who was burned beyond recognition inside the structure reports said.
The body was handed over to the Medical Examiner for identification and a possible cause of death.
The woman was officially identified yesterday afternoon as **26-year-old Lateisha E. Blair** of Newark family members told RLS Metro Breaking News.
Blair lived several blocks from where she was found and was the mother of three young children family members said.
Residents on Eastern Parkway said that they did remember seeing Blair in the neighborhood, but they could not confirm seeing her on the day of the fire nor would they say if anyone accompanied her into the house.
A spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office on Saturday would only confirm the fatal Eastern Parkway fire stating "we are attempting to identify the person and determine an official cause of death that will be made available by the Medical Examiner."
There has been no immediate confirmation of foul play.
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is handling the investigation at this time.
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