Woman’s body found after garage fire at Lancaster home

A woman’s body was discovered after firefighters doused a blaze at a Lancaster home Wednesday morning.

Emergency crews responded to a fire burning in the 41400 block of 38th Street West around 8:30 a.m.

Arriving units found smoke and fire coming from the garage and doused the blaze in about an hour. Two charred vehicles were found inside. No other occupants were home at the time.

Video shows three vehicles inside the garage that appeared to have sustained damage in the incident. Firefighters and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials could be seen peering into the trunk of one of the vehicles.

Authorities said the woman’s body was found in the trunk of a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The home was listed as belonging to Matthew Switalski, 37. It’s unclear whether Switalski is involved or whether he had any connections to the victim.

A neighbor told KTLA she heard a woman screaming in the early hours of the morning.

“Around 2 a.m., I heard a blood-curdling scream,” recalled a neighbor, who did not wish to be identified. “I had just opened my window after I was finished with some work and when I went to go check, I didn’t hear it anymore.”

Neighbors told KTLA that Switalski was previously employed by Northrop Grumman and reportedly rented out several rooms of his home to Northup Grumman employees.

LASD confirms they have not yet contacted or located the homeowner and are also working to locate the residents.

“It’s very unsettling to know that it’s down the street,” the neighbor said.

The victim’s identity has not been released and there was no immediate word on the cause of death.

Investigators also have not released any information about a possible cause of the fire.