HOLTS SUMMIT - The Kanas City woman found dead in Holts Summit was a prostitute who solicited sex at truck stops, according to Holts Summit Police Department Chief Kyle McIntyre.
Jessica Murafetis, 44, was found Jan. 30 in a grassy field near an ExxonMobil station's parking lot off of U.S. Highway 54, where tractor-trailers commonly park.
There were traces of methamphetamine and cocaine in Murafetis's system, but she died of hypothermia, according to toxicology results from the Boone/Callaway Medical Examiner's Office. She faced a misdemeanor offense in 2008 for unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, but after that was not charged with any other drug-related offenses, according to Missouri's online court records system website at courts.mo.gov.
She was last seen by her procurer, or pimp, getting into a white tractor-trailer near Interstate 435 in the north Kansas City area, police told the Fulton Sun. Other than its white color, McIntyre said Murafetis' procurer wasn't able to give any more specific details about the tractor trailer to investigators, including markings or symbols, making the description general.
Murafetis was unemployed at the time of her death, but her Facebook posts from 2012 showed she was seeking professional employment in the trucking industry.
In May 2012, Murafetis wrote a status that she planned to apply for "Swift," a transportation services company, and requested prayers as she went for a job. She posted about truck driving school later that month.
Another Facebook post from October 2012 stated Murafetis was the "proud owner" of a 1991 386 Peterbilt semi-truck with "carbo engine and tranny with less than 10,000 miles on it."
It's unknown to investigators if Murafetis was ever hired as a truck driver, said Sgt. Marc Haycook with the Holts Summit Police Department. He added that Murafetis was not registered with any commercial driver's license endorsements.
The Holts Summit Police Department is still actively investigating the case as a "mysterious death."
Murafetis was discovered wearing "olive-drab" (green) United States Marine Corps sweatpants and a red, long-sleeve T-shirt with the logo of Covenant Towing and Recovery, a company based in North Kansas City.
Haycook said nobody locally has come forward with details about Murafetis. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at (573) 896-4678 or Callaway Crime Stoppers at (573) 592-2474.